Duque backs proposed Duterte-Robredo COVID-19 vaccine infomercial

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Friday supported a proposal for President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo to feature in an infomercial encouraging Filipinos to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Duque said politics should have no place in matters concerning public health, especially COVID-19 vaccination.

“Maganda ‘yun kasi siyempre sa kalusugan, sa bakunahan, wala namang puli-pulitika diyan. Wala dapat mga parti-partido diyan, walang administrasyon, walang oposisyon… Dapat unifying ang ating objective,” he said.

(That’s a good idea because in health, in vaccination, there are no politics, political parties, administration, or opposition. Our objective should be to unify.)

On Thursday, Senator Joel Villanueva suggested that Duterte and Robredo come together for a public service announcement to boost trust in COVID-19 vaccines.

A recent Social Weather Stations poll found that 35% of Filipinos remain unsure about getting a COVID-19 jab, higher than the percentage of the population willing to get vaccinated.

Malacañang said the infomercial could push through if Robredo is willing to endorse the Sinovac shot. 

The Office of the Vice President, meanwhile, expressed readiness to participate in initiatives to bolster public confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

Duterte and Robredo were previously at odds over the need for a positive recommendation from the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) before the government could use the Sinovac jab in its inoculation campaign.

Robredo said in March that a positive recommendation from HTAC was needed but Duterte insisted it was not.

The Universal Health Care Act states that “investments on any health technology or development of any benefit package by the Department of Health and PhilHealth shall be based on the positive recommendations of the HTAC."

The Philippines has vaccinated over 2 million individuals as of May 18, still far from its target of inoculating 50 million to 70 million people this year. -Julia Ordeno/MDM, GMA News