April 16 ------ President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday evening urged officials to heed the request of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to extend assistance to potential local vaccine makers in the country. In a briefing, DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government started talking to companies that may manufacture COVID-19 vaccines. “Syempre dito po kausapin natin ang DOH at FDA, pag dating ho sa magkaroon lamang ng mabilis na processing, Greenlane on getting government permits,” Lopez said. He also asked for the government to procure locally produced vaccines subject to standards, specs, and prices.
Lopez likened the project to wartime efforts in which firms are mandated to manufacture ammunition and bullets to fight the enemy. “It’s likened to a war. Kapag gera tulad nung mga gera nung araw na ang gobyerno will really mandate the manufacturer to manufacture the needed ammo and bullets. Pero kasabay noon bibilin nila ‘yun kasi hindi aasa sa imports,” he said. Duterte later asked officials to listen to the request as it will be the “bible of government.”
“Ang hiningi lang ni [What he asked]… Sec. Lopez, assistance. Requested greenlane on government permits. Will subscribe to all requirements and submit documents but need faster production,” Duterte said. “Kindly give the meaning of every word in that sentence. That could be the bible of government dito. Parang dasal natin ito sa gobyerno kasi historically Philippines is one of the laggard,” he said. “That’s why we have cut processes down to the lowest level and ask everybody to cooperate,” he added.
The president said he would personally sign documents that have been left unattended for three days. “This is our father of government. Kasi ito ‘yung in the past and maybe a little bit this time, hindi na masyado, ito ‘yung, this is the essence, heart and soul of government operations na nagka l*che-l*che ang Pilipinas,” he said. In his presentation to the President, Lopez showed that possible vaccine manufacturers included local pharmaceutical giant United Laboratories Inc. and Glovax Biotech Corp.
According to the DTI, Unilab started manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines last April 7. The facility may become operational by 2023. Meanwhile, Glovax has signed an agreement with South Korea-based EuBiologics Co for local vaccine manufacturing. According to the Department of Science and Technology, the Philippines will possibly have its own fill-finish facilities or final manufacturing step in the overall production process for vaccine manufacturing by 2022.
Source: gmanetwork.com