Valenzuela unveils P150-million budget for vaccines 

Valenzuela City plans to spend P150 million for the purchase of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines that will be administered for free to residents of the city, according to a report by Manila Bulletin.

Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian said they are only waiting for the final list of vaccines from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) before they start the procurement. 

Gatchalian said the funds will be sourced from the city government’s Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund (LDRMMF) and the Quick Response Fund (QRF). 

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“Sa LDRRMC fund, both quick response and preparedness, ‘pag in-add mo (In the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council fund, both the Quick Response Fund and LDRMMF, when you add it) P150 million. We will just wait for FDA and IATF to give the go signal to procure,” he told reporters in a phone call on Monday. 

The local chief executive also said that the city government can realign their general fund to acquire more vaccines. 

As more private companies release vaccines against COVID-19, several local government units in Metro Manila announced plans to earmark funds to procure vaccines for their residents, separate from the national government.