Malacañang on Monday welcomed efforts of some local government units (LGUs) to secure doses of a coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine, saying it would mean more vaccines for the entire country.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque made this remark after the local governments of Manila and Pasig among others vowed to allocate funds to procure Covid-19 vaccines for its constituents.

“Let’s just say we welcome the contribution of the LGUs kasi ibig sabihin mas marami tayong budget para bumili ng vaccine at hindi lang iyong manggagaling sa pondo ng national government (it means that we have more budget to buy a vaccine and it won’t just come from the funds of the national government),” he said in a virtual presser.

Roque, however, explained that the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines would be a government-to-government transaction.

“Lahat po ng mga transaksiyon sa mga (All transactions with) manufacturers will be government-to-government. So wala naman pong mau-order na independent doon sa mga orders na gagawin po ni Vaccine Czar Secretary [Carlito] Galvez ‘no (So there won’t be orders independent from the orders to be placed by Vaccine Czar Secretary Galvez),” he said.

Last December, Roque suggested using the local funds to purchase vaccines not among vaccine brands already identified by the government.

“Perhaps you can propose na iyong local appropriation ninyo (that your local appropriation) can purchase a vaccine that is not included in the four na mayroon na tayong quota para mas marami iyong makuha natin, kasi hindi lang naman po apat iyong magkakaroon ng vaccine (that already have quotas so that you can acquire more, because it’s not only four brands developing a vaccine),” he said.

Currently, the government is negotiating with several pharmaceutical companies for the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines – Pfizer Inc., Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Novavax Inc, Sinovac, and Sputnik V.

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso earlier announced that the city government has allotted PHP250 million from the city’s budget for the Covid-19 vaccines.

To date, over 30,000 residents of the country’s capital had listed up for the city government’s promised free vaccines.

He said the city government has already signed a non-disclosure agreement with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said the city government has also allotted PHP300 million to procure Covid-19 vaccines for their people.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier instructed Galvez to prioritize vulnerable sectors and other marginalized groups for the Covid-19 vaccine.

He vowed to give free vaccines to 20 million “poorest of the poor” Filipinos while the rest will have access to reasonably-priced vaccines. (PNA)