Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 21) — A former COVID-19 task force official on Tuesday said vaccine donations from different countries, including China, were given with “no strings attached.”
“Sa akin pong pagkakaalam, wala pong anumang kondisyon or strings attached ang pag-donate ng mga bansa, tulad ng China,” Vince Dizon, former deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force against COVID-19, said during a Senate hearing on vaccine procurement.
[Translation: As far as I know, the donation from other countries, such as China, did not come with any conditions or strings attached.]
Dizon said that aside from China, the country also secured donations from Australia, the United States, and the European Union.
His statement came as Sen. Francis Tolentino questioned the donors’ intentions in providing the vaccines.
“I’m looking at the proportionality of the amount of the volume donated vis-a-vis the volume purchased. Baka ‘yun ang strings attached. Bakit ka magdo-donate, kung di mo ire-require na yung donee ay bumili din sa inyo in the future?” the senator asked.
[Translation: Maybe those were the strings attached. Why would you donate, if you don’t require the donee to also buy from you in the future?]
Tolentino said about 4.075 million doses of the China-donated Sinovac vaccines arrived in the Philippines. The national government then acquired more than 45 million doses from the Chinese pharmaceutical firm.
But Dizon remained firm that there were no conditions attached to the donated vaccines.
“Wala po akong nakitang corelation diyan dahil nung panahon tayo ay practically, nagmamakaawa na po sa mga bansa at that time dahil wala pa po tayong mabili sa global market ng mga bakuna,” he said.
[Translation: I didn’t see any correlation with that because we were practically begging the countries at that time since we couldn’t buy the vaccines in the global market.]
