CREATING DOUBT. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte greets Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo during the Philippine Military Academy ‘Mabalasik’ Class of 2019 commencement exercises at Fort General Gregorio Del Pilar in Baguio City on May 26, 2019. Duterte on Monday night (March 8, 2021) said Robredo caused doubt when she called for a review of Sinovac's CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine by the Health Technology Assessment Council just as the government was boosting public confidence in the vaccines. (Presidential file photo)
MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday night said Vice President Leni Robredo’s call for a review of Sinovac's CoronaVac Covid-19 vaccine by the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) created doubt just as the government was boosting public confidence in the vaccines.
In a pre-recorded public address, Duterte said Robredo did the public a “disservice” by supposedly making it appear that the government was skipping regulatory processes for vaccines.
He insisted that an HTAC review is only recommendatory and is not required before the government can roll out vaccines.
“Ang ginawa niyang disservice to the people is noong hindi niya sinabi na recommendatory (She did a great disservice to the people when she didn’t say that it was recommendatory),” he said.
Duterte said Robredo did not even bother understanding the provision under the Universal Health Care Act or Republic Act also known as Republic Act No. 11223 which states that the HTAC is recommendatory.
The donated Sinovac shots, he said, are not yet required to undergo an HTAC review because these were donated and not procured by the government.
“We were fighting against the tide of non-believers na huwag kayong matakot, ganito (not to be afraid). Now, here comes the statement na hindi niya --- hindi niya binasa kumpleto ang batas (she made without completely reading the law), with just a simple statement, magke-create ka ng (you’re creating) doubt,” he said.
He blamed Robredo’s call for an HTAC review as the reason why more individuals rejected the Sinovac-made CoronaVac vaccines.
“We were doing everything convincing, spending most of our time convincing the people that it is safe. Ang bakuna is safe. Now, if you create that uncertainty in the minds of the people mas maraming ayaw (there would be more who would refuse to get vaccinated),” he said.
Duterte expressed frustration over how Robredo relied on “half-truths” when she failed to read the UHC law.
“Medyo galit ako (I’m slightly angry) for coming with a half-truth na basahin mo kalahati lang (where you read just half of the law),” he said.
Instead of joining the government’s efforts to promote vaccine confidence, he said Robredo “muddled up everything.”
“I said, creating an uncertainty and doubt in the minds of the people. So ‘yon ang nagalitan ko (So that’s why I’m angry) because we were running against time, kailangan mabakuna na agad (we needed to start vaccination immediately),” he said.
He, meanwhile, appealed to Robredo to stay quiet if she is unsure of her statements.
“I hope that next time kung wala naman siyang masabi na tama (if she can’t say anything right), she just would maybe shut up. Siguraduhin niya muna o hindi magbasa siya, siya mismo. Ikaw, ma’am, ang magbasa and (Make sure you read first and) take notes of the important or salient points of the law. Otherwise, I said, a misplaced comma could change the meaning of everything,” he said.
Last week, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the HTAC is evaluating the Sinovac-made CoronaVac vaccines since the government is expected to procure 1 million doses this month under a PHP700 million purchase deal.
The country kicked off its vaccination program rollout on March 1, a day after the first batch of 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccine donated by China arrived on board a Chinese military aircraft on Feb. 28. (PNA)
