Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Tuesday reported the government’s plan to borrow a total of ₱73.2 billion from three external sources to fund the mass rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
Around ₱40 billion will be borrowed from multilateral agencies such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank. Domestic financing sources will also be tapped for some ₱20 billion.
The finance chief added the remaining ₱13.2 billion will come from their negotiations with other countries which produce COVID-19 vaccines.
“It depends on the source of vaccine. Either England or US or whoever,” Dominguez said.
Dominguez explained the average cost of a vaccine per person, not per dose, is around $25 or around ₱1,250.
The proposed ₱73.2 billion expenditure for the government’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout in the country is equivalent to 60 million Filipinos up for vaccination, he added.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. previously announced the best-case scenario for the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the country may happen from May to July 2021
Under the approved 2021 national budget by the House of Representatives, only ₱2.5 billion was allocated for COVID-19 vaccines. The Department of Health said an additional ₱10.5 billion budget is needed for the distribution of vaccines in the country next year.
