Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 23) — Vice President Leni Robredo expressed willingness to appear with President Rodrigo Duterte in an infomercial to encourage more Filipinos to have themselves vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Open na open ako kung kailangan ‘yan para makatulong sa vaccine trust,” Robredo said on Sunday during her weekly radio show. “Anytime, sabihin lang sakin kung anong gagawin ko, kailan, saan.”
[Translation: I’m very open to that if it’s needed to help build vaccine trust. Anytime, they just tell me what I need to do, when and where.]
Senator Joel Villanueva has proposed that an infomercial be released featuring the two top officials of the land to help boost vaccine confidence among the public.
Before this could happen, however, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday said Robredo should first clarify her stand on China-made vaccines.
“Unang-una po, linawin natin kung talagang tatanggapin ng vice president ang lahat ng bakuna kasi nagkaroon siya ng unang mga deklarasyon na mukhang hindi rin siya approved sa mga Chinese vaccine, at pinolitika rin po ang isyu na ‘yan,” Roque had said.
[Translation: First of all, it should be clear if the vice president will welcome all vaccines, because she earlier made declarations that seemingly show her disapproval of Chinese vaccines, and that issue has also been politicized.]
Robredo refuted this, saying she does not discriminate and only wanted to ensure all brands go through similar experts’ evaluation. In late February, she backed doctors’ call to have Sinovac’s CoronaVac undergo first a review by the Health Technology Assessment Council before they can be rolled out.
RELATED: Health technology assessment not required for COVID-19 vaccine use — Roque
“Pag sinabing sinisiraan o kinokontra ko ‘yung Sinovac dati, fake news po ‘yun [If they say I spoke ill or I opposed Sinovac before, that’s fake news,” she said.
“Ang sinasabi ko lang, mag-go through naman sana sa proseso para siguradong protected tayo [I only said that all vaccines should go through the process to ensure we’re protected],” she added, as she read a transcript of her previous statements.
Regarding the controversial policy of not disclosing in advance the brand of COVID-19 doses to be rolled out in local government units, Robredo said she fears this could result in a drop in the number of registrants.
“‘Yung sinasabing sasabihin naman pag nandoon na, okay naman ‘yun, pero again, papaano kung hindi mag-register dahil doon?” she said.
[Translation: What they’re saying that the vaccine brand will be disclosed right before doses are administered is okay, but again, what if residents don’t register in the first place because of the policy?]
A health official previously said the directive is meant to avoid situations where crowds troop to inoculation sites in cities where Pfizer-made vaccines, a sought-after vaccine brand in the country, are being offered.
