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Senator Panfilo Lacson. Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal
MANILA, Philippines – Who “dropped the ball” at the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine delivery?
He was a cabinet official who “keeps throwing the ball but … stays in the game,” Senator Panfilo Lacson told INQUIRER.net in a text message on Wednesday.
“The coach refuses to replace him,” he added.
Prior to this, Lacson asked the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Teodoro Locsin Jr., during a hearing of the Appointments Committee (CA), the nomination of two Philippine ambassadors earlier in the day that they “dropped the ball” on Pfizer vaccines.
In response, Locsin, who attended virtually the hearing, said: “I think it’s enough that I really lost my temper because Babe (Philippine Ambassador to the United States, José Romualdez) and I really work very hard and we don’t like to see our efforts in vain, but never mind, I don’t want to lose patience with Zoom. “
Lacson later said that Locsin no longer needs to identify the person who “dropped the ball” since Romualdez already told him who.
“I’m just in an SMS exchange with ambassador Babes Romualdez and you [Locsin] you don’t need to tell me, ”the senator said.
INQUIRER.net asked Lacson if he could identify the person in question and if the person is a cabinet official.
“Always Cabinet. Captain ball on that, ”he said in response.
“You can figure that out,” he added when asked which agency this cabinet official belongs to.
“He is the captain of the ball. He keeps dropping the ball but stays in the game. The coach refuses to replace him. The wonder of wonders! “he added.
In a series of tweets Tuesday, Locsin said the Philippines was supposed to receive 10 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer, but “someone dropped the ball.”
He said he and the US ambassador had arranged the delivery of the vaccine with the help of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“With that said, my thanks anyway to… Pompeo. We Babe Romualdez and I obtained 10 million doses from Pfizer funded by the World Bank and ADB to be shipped via FedEx to Clark. [airport] in January, ”Locsin tweeted.
JPV
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