Covid-19 vax secured due to PRRD’s foreign policy: Palace

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte’s independent foreign policy has helped the Philippines acquire coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines developed by China and the United Kingdom (UK), Malacañang said on Friday.

“Ang ating independent foreign policy, iyan po ang dahilan ngayon kung bakit isa na po tayo sa mga bansang nagbabakuna (Our independent foreign policy is the reason why we are one of the countries that can administer vaccines to their citizens),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during the launch of a vaccination drive in Davao City.

The Philippines kicked off its free vaccination campaign on Monday, a day after the Chinese government donated around 600,000 Covid-19 vaccine vials made by Chinese pharmaceutical giant Sinovac Biotech.

On Thursday, the Philippines also received some 487,200 vaccine doses developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca.

The first batch of AstraZeneca vaccines delivered to the country forms part of the 44 million vaccine shots that will be donated to the Philippines through the Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) facility.

The 487,2000 Covid-19 vaccines manufactured by AstraZeneca were donated to the Philippines by Germany, the European Union, Norway, France, Australia, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Austria, and Greece.

In a speech delivered Thursday night, Duterte said China would also donate additional 400,000 doses of Sinovac-made CoronaVac vaccines, making its donation to the Philippines one million.

The Philippines would have failed to secure Covid-19 vaccines, had Duterte decided not to implement his independent foreign policy of being “friend to all, enemy to none,” Roque said.

“Kung hindi po tayo nagkaroon ng polisiya made in Davao na tinatawag na independent foreign policy – kaibigan ng lahat at kaaway ng walang kahit sino – hindi po tayo makakatanggap hindi lamang ng 600,000 doses ng Sinovac, kung hindi one million doses (If we had not implemented the policy made in Davao and dubbed as foreign policy of being friend to all and enemy to none, we would have failed to get not only 600,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines but one million doses),” he said.

Duterte has pursued an independent foreign policy meant to maintain good relations with all nations and avoid siding with other countries.

Roque hoped critics would no longer find fault with Duterte’s foreign policy after it paved the way for the Philippines’ successful launching of its mass vaccination program.

“Sana po wala ng magdududa na tama po ang ginawang polisiya ng ating Presidente dahil kung wala po itong polisiyang ito, wala nga pong bakuna ngayon (I hope no one would no longer doubt the President’s foreign policy because we would have failed to secure vaccines if we had not pursued this),” he said.

Duterte on Thursday appealed to his fellow Filipinos to get inoculated with Covid-19 vaccines the “soonest time possible” to enable the country to further reopen the economy.