President Rodrigo Duterte defended vaccine czar Carlito Galvez over corruption claims in the government’s vaccination program.
Some lawmakers called for transparency in the prices of COVID-19 vaccines with China’s pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech.
Duterte said he is willing to bet his presidency to prove that Galvez is not corrupt.
“Pusta ko ang presidency ko. Walang graft iyan. Si Secretary Galvez kilala ko,” Duterte said during a speech in Jolo,Sulu.
Duterte explained his trust with Galvez and how the retired soldier defended Marawi during the siege in 2017.
Galvez slammed the corruption accusations saying they are honest and that the government is bounded by confidentiality agreements by the vaccine manufacturers.
“Sa atin po, gusto ko lang pong paalala sa ating mga mahal na mamayan, marami pong mababait at saka very honest dito sa government service po natin. Huwag po nating anuhin na pag galing ka sa gobyerno corrupt po ang mga tao. Minsan nakakasakit po ng damdamin,” Galvez said in an interview.
Galvez said that they will let the public know about the status of the deals once they were finalized.
“Katulad ng sinasabi ng mahal na Presidente na talagang rest assured the public will know that the government that we have is not corrupt,” he added.
Galvez assured that all government’s dealings are “fair and square.”
The government has repeatedly refused to disclose the amount of Sinovac vaccines citing confidentiality agreement. (TDT)
