Health Secretary Francisco Duque III denied the revelation of Foreign Affairs Chief Teodoro Locsin Jr. asserting that someone has ‘dropped the ball’ on the deal to buy 10 million doses of vaccine from US drug maker Pfizer.
“There is no such thing as ‘dropping of the ball.’ The negotiations are ongoing,” Duque insisted.
Locsin posted that he and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez were able to secure millions of vaccine doses to arrive in the country by January 2021, but these plans fell through because “someone dropped the ball.”
Romualdez said the vaccine arrival will most likely be delayed by a few months because other nations were able to finalize deals earlier than the Philippines.
Duque maintains that he has done everything asked from his officee in finalizing the confidentiality disclosure agreement for vaccine purchase. He said his office was advised on September 24 to review the deal and that he signed it on October 20.
