Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia thanked President Rodrigo Duterte today, February 18, for issuing Memorandum Order 51 that will allow cities to make advance payments for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
This has a direct impact, especially on cities that had earlier signed a multilateral agreement with the Department of Health (DOH), National Task Force Against COVID-19, and AstraZeneca for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines, he said.
“But this will, more importantly, benefit all LGUs similarly situated”, said Leonardia, who is also national president of the League of Cities in the Philippines (LCP).
Leonardia, on learning that Duterte signed Presidential Memorandum No. 51 today, said “this is definitely a giant leap towards accelerating the implementation of our local vaccination programs.”
Bacolod City is among the top five direct beneficiaries, along with Davao, Quezon, Makati and Manila, for having the biggest volume of allocated vaccine supply, the mayor said.
“We also acknowledge the hard work of Secretary Charlie Galvez and the participation of Senator Bong Go which made this a reality,” he said.
He also thanked Commission on Audit chairman Mike Aguinaldo for guiding the city mayors when policies and procedures were still being processed.
Bacolod City is preparing the advance payment of 20 percent, as per contract, of the total cost of 650,000 doses of vaccines it will procure from AstraZeneca before the deadline to ensure that they are delivered starting the third quarter of this year, the mayor added.
The LCP earlier passed a resolution appealing to the Office of President to issue an executive order to authorize mayors to make advance payments for the COVID-19 vaccines contracted by city governments, Leonardia said.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said that local governments can make up to 50 percent down payment on COVID-19 vaccines with the memorandum issued by the president.*