MANILA – Cabinet secretaries and government officials who may have been involved in the delayed procurement of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines from US-based Pfizer could be held liable for graft.
To note, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III allegedly failed negotiations in the procurement of the vaccines after he missed to submit all required documents on time.
Duque’s delay has pushed drugmaker Pfizer to allocate about 10 million vaccines to Singapore instead of the Philippines early next year, according to Sen. Panfilo Lacson last Wednesday.
“If it can be proved that the refusal to act within a reasonable time was intended to favor another party, then Section 3f of the Anti-Graft Law applies,” Sen. Francis Pangilinan said in a statement on Thursday.
According to Pangilinan, the said provision classifies as a corrupt practice the act of “neglecting or refusing, after due demand or request, without sufficient justification, to act within a reasonable time on any matter pending before him for the purpose of obtaining, directly or indirectly, from any person interested in the matter some pecuniary or material benefit or advantage, or for the purpose of favoring his own interest or giving undue advantage in favor of or discriminating against any other interested party.”
“Huwag naman sana na may issue ng ‘kickvacc’ (kickback) sa dropping of the ball ng Pfizer vaccine procurement,” Pangilinan said.
Duque, during his cabinet meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday, denied allegations that negotiations with Pfizer are over.
The Senate earlier agreed to convene as a Committee of the Whole either next week or in January to look into the executive department’s plan to procure, store and distribute the COVID-19 vaccines./PN
