Pangilinan: Bigger role of private sector, LGUs in vaccine rollout needed

Senator Francis Pangilinan on Saturday said the private sector and the local government units should be given a bigger role in the national vaccination program rollout against COVID-19.

In a statement, Pangilinan cited the "inadequate and slow" rollout of government's vaccine program.

"We have to speed it up. The private sector also wants the vaccination to step up, asking that they be allowed to go ahead with their own vaccinations," Pangilinan said.

Also, he said the national vaccination program rollout is "never going to be done effectively" without the help of the private sector and the LGUs.

He challenged the Inter-Agency Task Force to "enable LGUs by delegating some of the IATF's powers so that it could reach its goal of 70 million vaccinated Filipinos by year-end."

"Don't keep it [centralized authority] to yourselves. To reach 70 million, you need an army on the ground. You cannot just rely on the Department of Health; its army of health personnel on the ground would be the private sector as well as the LGUs," the senator emphasized.

But he said he is still optimistic that the government will hit its vaccination target of 70 million COVD-vaccinated Filipinos by end of 2021, provided the government would do more to achieve the goal.

Pangilinan also reiterated his call to revamp the IATF, but prefers vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez to stay as he is doing a good job.

"Secretary Galvez is very competent. But if you're surrounded by turkeys, you can't fly like an eagle," Pangilinan said. —LBG, GMA News