Published December 17, 2020, 2:54 PM
President Duterte told Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to answer allegations that he was to blame for the delay in the country’s acquisition of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after Senator Panfilo Lacson, citing Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, revealed that it was Duque who “dropped the ball” on the Philippines’ chance to acquire 10 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine, reportedly set for delivery as early as next month.
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte holds a meeting with some members of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on April 8, 2020.