PAF Intensifies Vaccine Distribution

 As Duterte Orders Expedite Delivery to 7,000 Islands

11 November 2021

Disgusted by poor rollout of the Provincial Governments distribution of Covid19 vaccines to the Municipalities, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana in Malacanang Tuesday, to expedite transport of vaccines to far flung Municipalities directly by air, bypassing regional and provincial centers.

The directive came after a 148,000 coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19) vaccine doses were destroyed in Pagadian City by fire without it being distributed to Municipalities of the Province.

President Duterte has also ordered the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to sanction local government units (LGUs) and local chief executives performing poorly in relation to their respective coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination program rollout.

(I can’t pinpoint what we’re doing wrong if there really is something wrong. Why is the vaccination rollout slow? At the national level, it’s okay. The problem is in the provincial and regional level),” he said in a pre-recorded public address aired Wednesday morning.

He then instructed Lorenzana to transport the vaccines directly to the Municipal level using AFP assets as distribution tend to bogged down at the Regional or Provincial levels.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said the investigation will be conducted by the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) along with the DILG.

Ano told the President that they are already looking into the possibility of investigating the localities conducting snail-paced vaccination processes to expedite the filing of the appropriate sanctions against them if it is proven that they were negligent or had committed lapses.

The DILG chief issued the warning after the President ordered him to hold local government units and local chief executives accountable for poor performance in the Covid-19 vaccination rollout.