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It is the turn of pharmaceutical companies that produce Covid vaccines, including Sinovac, to confront Senate investigators on Friday for the third Committee of the Whole (COW) hearing on the Duterte government’s vaccine roadmap.
The Office of the President of the Senate, Vicente Sotto III, who chairs the COW investigation of all senators, confirmed that, in addition to the vaccine czar, Carlito Gálvez, and the Secretary of Health, Francisco Duque, formal invitations were sent to the Cabinet members who make up the Inter-institutional Working Group (IATF). as well as officials from Sinovac Biotech Ltd., Zuellig Pharma Philippines, Pfizer and Unilab. Among others, Senate investigators set out to verify claims that Malacañang officials were willing to strike a deal with Sinovac, among other vendors.
Officials from MKG Universal Drugs Trading Corp., which said it is an exclusive distributor here of China’s state-owned Sinopharm, were also invited to testify. At the same time, Senate investigators are expected to raise questions about the efficacy, prices, and side effects of vaccines made in China.
No ugly scenes
Meanwhile, the third hearing of the Plenary Commission was not expected to generate fierce debates among Executive officials and legislators, according to Senator Panfilo Lacson, given Secretary Gálvez’s effort to clear things up with him, Senate President Sotto and the senator. Ronald dela Rosa at a meeting on Wednesday night.
“Secretary Gálvez’s briefing clarified many issues,” Lacson told Senate reporters via Viber.
Lacson recalled receiving a message from the Mayor of Baguio City, Benjamin Magalong, relaying Gálvez’s request for “a meeting to personally apologize for the things he mentioned about me in his presentation during the T3 Zoom meeting last week, which I mentioned in my rally during the Senate Committee’s full hearing on January 5. “
The senator said Gálvez’s briefing on Wednesday “cleared up many issues and concerns raised by senators that have remained unresolved until last night.”
In turn, Lacson said: “We advise you [Galvez] to explain at the hearing tomorrow in the same way that he did last night, without violating the terms of the agreement with the vaccine providers. For his part, the senator reported that “we are committed to honoring and respecting those terms so as not to jeopardize the deliveries of the vaccines that he said will begin within the first quarter of this year.”
“I accepted your apology. He promised to be more careful when issuing statements, “Lacson said, adding:” They showed us the documents. And we have no doubt about the integrity of Secretary Gálvez and his sincerity to carry out his task ”.
Furthermore, Lacson advised Gálvez to “watch his back, front, left and right sides”, adding: “He [Galvez] He may have the best intentions, but there may be people pushing him to the front to speak and explain to leverage his credibility while pursuing their own interests, “the senator said. “He [Galvez] He assured us that it will make it very difficult for those people to even have a chance for that opportunity. “
Lacson also affirmed that “we share the same goal: to ensure that our people are vaccinated against Covid-19, with no margin for overpricing and other irregularities,” adding that “the Executive and Legislative departments must work together in this regard.”
Earlier, Duterte said that he had advised officials like Duque and Gálvez to continue to heed Senate invitations and be as transparent as possible, but to withdraw in the event of “abusive behavior” by senators that could politicize the vaccine issue.
