Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin M. Andanar assured the public that in the rollout of the national government’s vaccination program, no one will be left behind as the country adapts to the ‘new normal’ and recovers from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Under the leadership of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, whether it is in infrastructure development or in COVID-19 vaccines, I assure all the Filipino people that no one will be left behind,” said Sec. Andanar during the “Cabinet Report sa Teleradyo” on Friday, January 29, 2021.
“The whole-of-nation approach means that our government wants to ensure that in each corner of our country, no one will be left behind, especially when it comes to getting out of poverty amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
National Task Force Against COVID-19 Deputy Chief Implementer Secretary Vince Dizon pointed out that the government needs the support of the private sectors, local government units, and the public in its whole-of-nation approach in the implementation of the national vaccination program.
“Noong nagsimula tayo dito sa napakabigat nating laban sa COVID-19, talagang nagsabi ang ating mahal na Pangulo na kailangan sama-sama tayo, tulung-tulong tayo dito, dahil hindi kaya ng gobyerno lang ang napakabigat na hamon ng COVID-19 [At the start of our fight against COVID-19, our beloved President said that we need to be united and help one another because the government alone cannot face the challenges brought by the COVID-19],” said Sec. Dizon.
The 3-year vaccination program of the government aims to vaccinate 50% of the population or 50 to 70 million Filipinos this year. The private sectors nationwide will help in the transportation and storage of the vaccines in their facilities, while the LGUs are tasked to administer the vaccine to their constituents.
“Ang objective natin is mabakunahan ang 50% of the population ngayong 2021, so roughly mga 50 to 70 million Filipinos. Kailangan talaga decentralized tayo. Kailangan gagamitin natin ang mga private sectors, at hihingi tayo ng tulong sa ating mga LGUs [Our objective is to vaccinate 50% of the population this 2021, so roughly around 50 to 70 million Filipinos. We really need to decentralize it. We need to ask for help from the private sectors and the LGUs],” he said.
According to Sec. Dizon, proper coordination with all the barangays is important in the massive roll out of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Ngayong tulung-tulong na ang ating mga private sectors at ating mga LGUs para siguradong maayos ang ating roll out, napaka-importante diyan ‘yung coordination natin sa LGUs kasi sila ang nandiyan sa ating mga barangay, kasi ang far-flung barangay, nasa control ‘yan ng mga LGUs. Kaya dapat talagang mag-work together ang national government at ang LGUs [Now that our private sectors and the LGUs are working together to ensure proper vaccination program rollout, coordination with the LGUs is important because the LGUs have jurisdiction over all the barangays, even the far-flung barangays. That is why the national government and our LGUs need to work together],” said Sec. Dizon.
Meanwhile, the projects under the Build, Build, Build program continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar stressed that each infrastructure project contributes a lot to the quick recovery of the economy.
“Gusto naming ipakita na napakalaki ng tulong ng Build, Build, Build [program] sa ating ekonomiya, dahil nagbibigay ng trabaho at nagkakaroon din ng development sa ating mga provincial areas. So, double po ‘yung benefit ng Build, Build, Build, in many ways—habang ginagawa at kapag nagawa na [We want to show that the Build, Build, Build [program] contributes a lot to our economy, because it provides jobs and it helps in the development of the provincial areas. So, Build, Build, Build provides double benefits, in many ways—during the construction of the projects and once the projects are completed],” said Sec. Villar.
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