“Urgency in a Pandemic: A Democracy Watch Statement on Faster Vaccination Rollout”
Democracy Watch calls for the faster rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines. The 7.08 million as of vaccinated Filipinos are a far cry from the 70 million target by the end of the year. Almost halfway through the year, the government needs to maintain a sense of urgency when responding to the pandemic; it is high time to increase the supply of vaccines in the country. Its citizens and the economy have suffered long enough.
After all, the government has a sufficient budget for this: the Department of Finance states that the country has the money to “fully scale up our vaccination program to the end of the current year.” According to the Department of Budget Management, only 23% of the released funds for the inoculation program has been spent, leaving a whopping 77% left to be used.
Democracy Watch calls for the transparency in vaccine procurement and in the use of response funds. The Philippines still holds the longest lockdown record in the world. The government must act with the urgency required to respond to this long emergency.