Senate wraps up probe on controversial COVID-19 procurement

THE SENATE’s Blue Ribbon Committee investigating the COVID-19 purchases has wrapped its probe on the controversial procurement contract of the government, especially on the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

Lawmakers have said that the Department of Health (DOH) refused to release the details of the vaccine procurement contracts on the pretext of a supposedly existing NDA.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also repeatedly called on the DOH to waive the NDA in the name of transparency, saying the NDAs with private manufacturers have outlived their purpose. “At this point, COVID vaccine NDAs are useless and have outlived their purpose, dahil tapos na ang isyu ng price competition. It is now simply a violation of the public's right to know how our money was spent. NDAs should no longer stand in the way of accountability and transparency," she said.

The senator said the fact that the DOH submission of documents only covered the loan agreements with Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and those with limited permissions from select vaccine manufacturers like Pfizer and AstraZeneca.

"What about the agreements with other vaccine manufacturers, like Sinovac? Bulto bultong bakuna pa naman mula sa Sinovac ang binili ng nakaraang administrasyon para sa national vaccination program. Paano magsasagawa ng complete audit ang COA (Commission on Audit) kung patuloy na magtatago ang mga kompanya sa likod ng NDA clause ng kontrata?," She asked. "If we allow this to happen now, it is precedent-setting. Baka sa susunod na pandemya mauulit na naman ito, at posibleng maabuso.”

Hontiveros also said that this non-compliance of foreign vaccine manufacturers with the country's government processes is alarming.

"There is too much unnecessary secrecy surrounding this. Hindi naman dapat ituring na state secret ang presyo ng bakuna dahil pera ng bayan ang ginamit para ipambili nito. Pinipilay lang ng mga NDA na ito ang mandato ng COA na usisain kung nakasulit ba tayo sa bilyun-bilyong pisong inilabas natin noong panahon ng pandemya," Hontiveros said.

She said that after some 44 million vaccine wastage, it is high time the real cost is disclosed to the public. "Pwede bang i-undermine ng pribadong sektor ang ating konstitusyon dahil lang mayroon silang NDA sa government contracts? Of course not. Panahon na para makipagtulungan ang mga vaccine manufacturers sa audit ng COA," she said.

"I stand by my call to completely release all information with regards to the COVID-19 vaccine procurement to the public. I have been saying this for over a year. There is no reason for this to be done behind closed doors. We deserve to know how every centavo was spent, lalo na ngayong panahon ng resesyon. Managot ang dapat managot, at huwag magtago sa likod ng NDA," she added.

Senator Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said they would come out with policies that would benefit the people. He urged the COA to have a reference to environmental harm that can be caused by a product purchased, and the Solicitor General to come out with a provision concerning possible environmental degradation as to the products purchased and disposed of by the government. 

He also said the societal acceptance of the COVID-19 vaccines is one of the factors that led to the wastage of some 44 million doses of vaccines. 

“I think we have explored the nitty-gritty and the continuing nuances concerning the wastage, the 44 million (doses of expired vaccines) that would probably balloon into a bigger amount...I hope that the lessons learned here will be implemented. We will be coming up with the committee report after receiving the Office of the Solicitor General's position paper,” Tolentino said. (Voltaire F. Domingo and Mindanao Examiner)