FOUR GOVERNMENT agencies will be investigating the fire at the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Health Office over the weekend where over 148,000 coronavirus disease-2019 (Covid-19) vaccine doses were destroyed.
Speaking to President Rodrigo Duterte during his Talk to the People aired Wednesday morning, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said the investigation will be conducted by the Department of Health (DOH), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) along with the DILG.
"Titingnan po natin kung ano ang mga pagkukulang at nasayang ang more or less 148,000 vaccine doses. Dapat ang insidente na ito ay maging wake-up call sa ating mga local chief executive na hindi dapat masayang ang mga bakuna at maiturok agad ito sa ating mga kababayan (We will determine the lapses over the wastage of more or less 148,000 vaccine doses. This incident should be a wake-up call for our local chief executives -- that vaccine doses should not be wasted and these should be administered to our kababayans)," Año said.
Authorities said the fire broke out around 11:40 p.m. Sunday at the Blue Building of the Provincial Government Center in Barangay Dao, Pagadian City.
Some 148,678 doses of Covid-19 vaccines were destroyed in the fire that started at the maintenance department of the Zamboanga del Sur Medical Center.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) estimated the damage to properties at PHP1.5 million. They declared fire out at around 1:36 a.m. Monday.
Año, meanwhile, ordered local chief executives to designate a senior data officer who will monitor the submission of vaccination accomplishment reports to the government's Vaccination Operations Reporting System.
"Sa ngayon, 30 percent pa ng mga LGUs ang hindi consistent sa paga-update ng kanilang reports bago dumating ang 6 a.m. cutoff. Nasa 10 milyon na line entry gaps ang kailangan maipasok sa database (For now, 30 percent of LGUs are not consistent in updating their reports before the 6 a.m. cutoff. There are some 10 million line entry gaps which should be entered into the database),” he said.
He said authorities are looking into the possibility of investigating the localities conducting snail-paced vaccination processes to expedite the filing of the appropriate sanctions against them if it is proven that they were negligent or had committed lapses.
The DILG chief issued the warning after the President ordered him to hold local government units and local chief executives accountable for poor performance in the Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Año said 7,232 households or 31,178 individuals were affected by the granular lockdowns across the country as of November 1.
The DILG chief also cited that incorporating granular lockdowns with the alert level system has been "effective" in containing Covid-19 transmission.
He noted that 7,232 households are currently affected by granular lockdowns in 432 areas in 283 barangays.
In particular, 47 areas in Metro Manila are currently under granular lockdowns. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)
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