Press Briefing

Press Briefing of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque during the Ceremonial Vaccination of A4 Priority Group in Calabarzon

Event Press Briefing

SEC. DIZON: [Airing starts] Nagpapasalamat tayo kay Mayor Arlene – Mayor, may utang ako sa’yo. Nandiyan si RD Sydiongco, alam ni RD na araw-araw ka-meeting namin. Lagi sinasabi dagdagan ninyo bakuna ng Sta. Rosa ‘no kasi napakaganda ng performance ng City of Sta. Rosa.

And now, very important iyong gagawin natin ngayon dahil alam ninyo naman ang Sta. Rosa, isa sa mga industrial hubs ng buong bansa, hindi lang ng Luzon kundi ng buong bansa. Nandito ang mga pinakamalalaking locator, mga export industries nandito lahat – from electronics to services to other manufacturing nandito – lalung-lalo na dito sa Laguna Techno Park kaya it’s very important na mabakunahan na natin iyong mga workers natin.

So, I wanna thank Mayor Arlene – thank you Ma’am. Despite iyong challenges natin sa supply, prinayoritize ninyo po ang ating mga workers sa Laguna Techno Park. And I wanna thank the Ayala Group led by Mr. Paolo Borromeo of AC Health for doing this with us. They have been our partners from the very start. In fact kami ni Sec. Charlie, siguro pang-apat na beses na naming pumunta dito, Mayora ‘no, dito sa Sta. Rosa kasi importanteng-importante talaga ‘to noong binuksan iyong testing facility dito, noong nagkaroon tayo ng surge noong mga nakaraang buwan. Napakaimportante nitong QualiMed sa Sta. Rosa, ng Ayala Health para sa pagserbisyo dito sa Southern Luzon.

And ngayon, importante mabakunahan na natin iyong mga workers natin. And this mall will actually be a major vaccination hub not just of Sta. Rosa but also of the many industrial parks in the Sta. Rosa area, in the Laguna area ‘no. So magsisimula tayo ngayon sa Laguna Techno Park pero mag-i-expand pa tayo sa mga ibang industrial zones, TIEZA and other economic zones dito sa Laguna at sa Southern Luzon.

So thank you very much and thank you, Spox Harry, sa lahat ng serbisyong binibigay mo, sa pagbibigay ng impormasyon sa ating mga kababayan. Importanteng-importante talaga ‘no na ngayon na lalo na with the Delta variant looming, we all gets the right information and we wanna thank Spox Harry for doing that on a daily basis ‘no despite all the criticism and all the fake news going around, hindi natitinag iyong trabaho at iyong dedication ni Spox Harry para sa pagbibigay ng impormasyon sa ating mga kababayan.

So with that, thank you very much. And we’re very excited to vaccinate the first workers in the Laguna Techno Park today. Thank you very much.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Secretary Dizon. So now, let’s hear from our beautiful City Mayor of Sta. Rosa, Laguna Ms. Arlene Arcillas.

STA. ROSA, LAGUNA MAYOR ARCILLAS: Yes. Good morning to everyone. Good morning po sa inyong lahat and most especially welcome to the City of Sta. Rosa again. Of course [unclear] actually from [unclear] sila at vaccinated na rin ang kaniyang—A1 to A3 na pamilya; of course RD Sydiongco of DOH; and of course Paolo, thank you very much again. Ayala has always been the partner of the City of Sta. Rosa in all our programs, not only vaccination program po.

And of course again, welcome to the City of Sta. Rosa, my BFF kaya po ganoon na lang iyong compliment niya ‘no. We were classmates in the 17th Congress and we were still very close. Actually last week po, last Monday, Secretary Harry Roque checked our vaccination site in the main town natin ano, itong Sta. Rosa Complex. Thank you, Sec. Harry Roque, palakpakan po natin.

And of course not only during the vaccination but most of the DPWH [unclear] as well, right? Sec. Vince Dizon, palakpakan po natin. Again, welcome to the City of Sta. Rosa. Marami po siyang utang sa akin—hindi, more than sa utang nila sa atin, of course I would like to thank the national government, DOH, of course Secretary Charlie Galvez, wala po ngayon. We’ve been coordinating as well because they’re giving us the vaccines. National pa po ang mga supply natin sa vaccine and we understand naman ‘no, iyong iba kasi nagku-complain bakit daw mabagal ‘no but then again maayos naman.

And we promise ‘no, kasama po ang national government, we promise na everybody will be vaccinated. The city purchased vaccines as well but we’re very thankful na nasisimulan natin ang vaccination na ito through the national government rollout; so palakpakan po natin ang national government and our President as well.

And of course we are very happy, nabanggit na po kanina na ang Lungsod po ng Sta. Rosa—but not only Lungsod ng Sta. Rosa ha, the 1st District of Laguna including the 2nd District, Calamba, Biñan and San Pedro Industrial Hub po not only of the region but the whole country as well ano and Laguna Techno Park covers not only Sta. Rosa. So ang atin pong vaccination ngayon will not only cover Sta. Rosa residents na A4 workers natin but also those coming from other cities and towns ‘no.

Binanggit ko nga po kay RD. So we’re very happy because during the time na nagka-categorize po ay sinabi ko talaga when we were doing the—iyong pag-purchase namin ng vaccine na isasama natin ang mga workers natin. Why? As mentioned by Secretary Roque na noong ECQ ay nakikipag-coordinate tayo, 50% po ng industries natin open. Why? Because kailangan nating i-open – export/import and food manufacturing po ang kinu-cover namin – which is very important. And we were able ‘no to take care of those workers but most especially now, the best for us to take care of them is to have them vaccinated. So we’re doing it right now.

So we would like to thank the national government ‘no, wala kayong utang ‘no; wala kayong utang pero mas magandang dagdagan ang vaccines ng Region IV-A. I’m not only speaking for Sta. Rosa but the whole of the region as well ‘no. So na-promise naman po na ang rollout natin ng vaccine ay continuous na. And we promise as well ‘no, Paolo, sabi ko nga kay Paolo, not only QualiMed which is one of our vaccination sites ng city, we might use the mall as well kapag marami na po tayong vaccine.

So again to remind the people, we’re still doing A1 to A3 priority pa rin but I’m very happy that we’re stating A4 now in the City of Sta. Rosa in the Province of Laguna. So muli po, maraming salamat and of course parati nating linya – we heal as one for everyone. Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Mayora. So for our next speaker, may I call on Asec. Francisco Cruz of plans and Programs of DILG.

DILG ASEC. CRUZ: Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat lalo na kay Mayor ano. On behalf of DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, we would like to congratulate the City of Sta. Rosa doon po sa magandang performance din ninyo sa pagbabakuna ‘no. And I personally thank you kasi po kami ho noong aking nanay at ang aking asawa ay complete na po iyong pagbabakuna sa amin ano sa tulong po ng local government unit natin.

Napakahalaga ho talaga noong bakuna sa ating lahat ano. Katulad ng nabanggit nila Sec. Roque kanina and Sec. Vince, bukod ho sa itong lungsod na ito ay tahanan ng maraming industriya’t pagawaan, ito rin ho ay tahanan ng mga maraming manggagawa na hindi lang nagtatrabaho dito sa Sta. Rosa kung hindi sa iba’t ibang panig ng Pilipinas ‘no kahit ho kami sa Maynila pa o sa Quezon City nagtatrabaho. So napakahalaga ho na ang lahat ay mabakunahan para proteksiyon sa kaniyang sarili at proteksiyon sa kaniyang mga kasama ‘no. At para maging mabilis na rin po iyong ating pagbubukas ng ekonomiya, iyong pagbabalik natin sa normal, sa new normal ano.

Ito hong nakikita ninyo sa lamesa natin ngayon ay isang show ng whole-of-nation approach sa pag-address nitong pandemic na ito ‘no kung saan nakikita po ninyo iyong national government, kasama po namin sila Sec. Roque, sila Sec. Vince Dizon, ang local government unit at ang private sector magkakasama na tinutugunan itong problemang ito. Ito lang ho iyong solusyon natin para maging mabilis iyong ating pakikibaka’t mapagtagumpayan itong ating laban dito sa COVID-19 na magkakasama iyong private sector, local government and national government and of course the cooperation of the people, napakahalaga po noon.

Habang ginagawa po nila iyong mga iyan, iyang pagbabakuna, mahalaga rin po na ipagpatuloy iyong PREVENT, DETECT, ISOLATE, TReat and REINTEGRATE STRATEGY ng gobyerno para mapabilis iyong pag-overcome sa pandemic. At of course mahalaga po iyong cooperation ng bawat isa sa ating mga mamamayan, iyong laging sinasabi ni Sec. Roque – MASK, HUGAS, IWAS – tuluy-tuloy ho nating gawin para po maging ligtas po ang lahat.

Maraming, maraming salamat po ulit sa inyo.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Asec. Cruz. So for our next speaker, may I call on Dr. Paula Paz M. Sydiongco, Director III of DOH- CALABARZON.

DOH CALABARZON DIR. SYDIONGCO: To our distinguished guests and Secretary Harry Roque and Secretary Vince Dizon, Mayor Arcillas and to all, good morning po.

We are here today for a very important event, the start of our vaccination for the people who carry the burden of economic well-being of our region.

DOH CALABARZON DIR. SYDIONGCO: (con’t) Ang sabi nga ni Secretary Roque, sila talaga ang katulong natin sa ating ekonomiya, so, it is time that we start vaccination of our workforce that is vital to the economic recovery from the pandemic that is not only affecting our region but the whole world.

So, actually, a year ago, around June as well, we noticed the initial increase of COVID in Laguna among the Technopark health workers. So, as a response, we had surveillance and coordination with the different industries and LGUs as well as DOLE and finally this led to the development of the workplace manual. So, this also led to the usual coordination of the workforce through the RTF as well.

So, we are encouraging our essential workers to please enlist with our respective companies or LGUs to be vaccinated. So, we would like to thank as well the support of our very own Secretary Duque and of course Secretary Harry Roque, Vince Dizon who leads our daily meeting every 8 A.M., and of course the response of all the local chief executives, like Mayor Arcillas.

And we at the Regional Health Office commit our full technical support towards this vaccination. So, I hope you will not be swayed by the fake news and instead let us work together to be able to achieve the herd immunity and be able to enjoy Christmas with our families not fearing to embrace our family members as well.

So, good morning and thank you so much. Thank you so much Ayala also and McDonalds, and all the sponsors. Thank you.

PIA DIRECTOR ARZADON: Thank you, Doktora. So, before we proceed with the ceremonial proper, may I call on Mr. Paolo Borromeo, the President and CEO of AC Health (Ayala Corp. Health).

AYALA HEALTHCARE PRES. BORROMEO: Thank you. Thank you to everyone and good morning to our distinguished guests. Secretary Roque, salamat po. We’re extremely grateful that you are here. Of course, Mayor Arlene, long time partner of the Ayala Group po ang Sta. Rosa and you know how close and how important Sta. Rosa is to us, Mayor, so many thanks. Of course, Secretary Vince for his constant leadership. Hindi kumukupas na pag-lead sa aming lahat. ASec. Frank of DILG, salamat po! And of course, ARD Paula, happy birthday po! But thank you! Thank you to everyone for being here.

I just wanted to emphasize a few things. First of all, a big thank you to our Ayala Group staff and leadership team, ang laking pasasalamat po namin. Thank you to Solenad and to Ayala Mall for hosting this event today. Thank you to our friends from from Laguna Technopark. Thank you to our friends from IMI (Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc.) and of course thank you to our friends from QualiMed.

I just wanted to say a few things, Sec. Vince, ang LTI (Laguna Technopark Inc.) po, this is part of our—this is a ceremonial vaccination for industrial workers. Ang Laguna Technopark po is one of the oldest industrial park in the country, so, matagal na po iyang partner natin dito. And in fact, I think it helped spur a lot of the development here. Hindi po ba, Mayor, because of the economic activity?

So, tama po si Spox na napaka-importante po noong export-oriented industries because we employ so many people. In Laguna Technopark, we have about 250 companies and about 120,000 employees. Ang dami po, hindi lang po iyan sa Ayala, iba-iba pong locators iyon. One of those companies is Integrated Micro-Electronics which is our manufacturing arm at the Ayala Group.

Ito po, it’s a global company, we have factories all over the world pero siyempre ang pinaka importante at pinakamalaking factory is here in Laguna Technopark. We have about 5,000 workers just in IMI and when Sec. Vince asked can we do it in Laguna Technopark, we happily volunteered and we got volunteers to sign-up and hindi po kami nagkulang doon sa hiningi ni Mayor Arlene. In fact, humingi pa kami ng kaunti pa, Mayor, na bakuna kasi ang dami talagang gustong magpabakuna. But I want to thank IMI and Laguna Technopark, thank you for the partnership.

Lastly, thank you to our friends from QualiMed. QualiMed po, as Mayor Arlene said and Secretary Vince, we’ve been partners of the government, of the national government, of the regional government, and the local government ever since day one. Kami po ay one of the first to be a COVID referral hospital. Sec, you remember, we are one of the first who put up PCR laboratories noong wala pang PCR laboratories, Ma’am. And then we were one of the first to be vaccinated. Remember, Sec. Vince nang nagpunta kayo dito ni Sec. Charlie? Outside of NCR, our health-care workers were one of the firsts ‘no if not the first outside of NCR.

And today, we’re delighted again as a group to be one of the first industrial park to be vaccinated outside of NCR. So, tuluy-tuloy lang po ang partnership, Mayor, Spox, Secretary Vince, and if there’s anything else that the Ayala Group can do, please count on our full support against the COVID virus.

But thank you everyone and we’ll now proceed to the ceremonial vaccination

[CEREMONIAL VACCINATION]

MODERATOR: Thank you, Sir Paulo. Let’s now proceed with our press briefing. So, may I call on Secretary Roque, Secretary Vince Dizon, Mayor Arlene Arcillas, ASec. Cruz, Dra. Sydiongco and Sir Paulo Borromeo.

Again, magandang umaga po sa ating lahat! Before we proceed with the Q&A, we wish to acknowledge again our panelists and our guests, Mayor Arlene Arcillas; Sec. Harry Roque; Sec. Vince Dizon; Mr. Paolo Borromeo; Dr. Sydiongco; ASec. Frank Cruz; ASec. Queenie Rodulfo; Dr. Rosanna Cunanan, head of the City Health Office 1; and Dr. Erwin Escal, head of the City Health Office 2.

In the interest of time, we encourage our media friends to limit their questions to 2-3 only and to focus our questions on the vaccination program.

So, maraming salamat po and please occupy [sic] the mic in the middle and state your name and your media outfit. The floor is now open.

TINA PANGANIBAN-PEREZ/GMA 7: Tina Panganiban-Perez po from GMA. Ika-clarify ko lang, Sir, is this the first time we’re vaccinating essential workers in Laguna or in Sta. Rosa?

STA. ROSA MAYOR ARCILLAS: May [unclear] naman na po tayo pero ito kasi iyong nag-ano tayo ng area talaga – Laguna Technopark to do ceremonial pero iyong Sta. Rosa po may [unclear] na A4 but of course we’re prioritizing the A1 to A3. And with this rollout sa A4 then we will really open na po iyong A4 in Sta. Rosa. This is only for Sta. Rosa huh.

TINA PANGANIBAN-PEREZ/GMA 7: Okay. For Secretary Roque and Secretary Dizon. The Bloomberg COVID Resilience Ranking lists the Philippines as the second worst country to visit because of COVID. Your reaction po, Sir? Thank you.

SEC. ROQUE: Well, hindi po natin maikakaila na talagang malaki po iyong naging epekto ng pandemya sa ating ekonomiya ‘no. Pero ang ating economic team ay kampante na tayo po ay unti-unti nang bumabangon at tuluyang makakabangon ‘no.

Uulitin lang po natin, ang ating choice po ngayon ay hindi between health and the economy, it is about total health. Ang ating mga polisiya ngayon po ay talagang ini-ensure na hindi lang po mapapababa ang numero ng COVID kung hindi maiiwasan din po ang pagkagutom sa hanay ng ating mga kababayan.

SEC. ROQUE: Ang ating mga polisiya ngayon po ay talagang ini-ensure na hindi lang po mapapababa ang numero ng COVID kung hindi maiiwasan din po ang pagkagutom sa hanay ng ating mga kababayan.

SEC. VINCE HIZON: No, it think the response of Spox is very clear. Ako, ang sasabihin ko lang, ang kailangan na nating gawin magtrabaho na lang tayo ng magtrabaho para tuloy-tuloy iyong pagbabakuna natin para itong COVID talagang thing of the past na siya.Right now the entire is still grappling with this, now you’ve seen the news out of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, you see what they are having to deal with now and this are challenges that all of us have to deal.

Now we have to do just we have just keep on working together with our LGUs, together with the private sector, vaccinate as many and as fast as we can and if we are able to that hopefully we will have a better Christmas as what has been saying but we have to do that through hard work and so far persistence and that’s all we have to do together as a country.

LOUISA ERESPE:  Louisa po from PTV, question for Sta. Rosa LGU and for Ayala Corporation po sana. So far po ba, iyong private sector here in Sta. Rosa nag-procure din po ng vaccine for their employees?

MR. PAOLO MAXIMO BORROMEO: Speaking for us, kami po, oo nag-procure po kami para sa mga empleyado ng Ayala Group. So, including po ang IMI, including po ang Ayala Land, Including po ang BPI at saka ang Globe pati po ang Laguna Water, nag-procure po kami para sa amin.

LOUISA ERESPE: Sir, certain brand lang po and how many doses ito?

MR. PAOLO MAXIMO BORROMEO: Ah, hindi ko masabi kung ilan ang eksakto para sa Laguna but as a group we ordered a million doses for our company of Astra Zeneca same as Mayor and of Moderna.

LOUISA ERESPE: Sec. Dizon, iyong distribution naman po sana ng Moderna vaccines na dumating this week. Ano po ba iyong basis natin ng pagdi-distribute ng supply?

SEC. VINCE HIZON: So, there were 250,000 doses that arrived, 100,000 went to the private sector because of you know the Moderna procurement is a private and public procurement. 150,000 sa gobyerno, iyong buong 150,000 na iyon dahil unang-una pa lang nating pagkakataon na gumamit ng Moderna para controlled environment, sa NCR muna pinadala. So, nai-deliver na iyon sa lahat ng LGUs ng NCR at I think today magsisimula na silang mag-administer ng Moderna.

LOUISA ERESPE: Last question po for Sec. Roque, today marks po the last year of Presidente Duterte in office. So, ano pa po iyong mga plano niyang gawin and ano po iyong masasabi natin na parang pinaka-tumatak po sa ginawa niya during his time?

SEC. ROQUE: Siguro iyong detalye sasabihin na ni Pangulo mismo sa kanyang kahuli-hulihang State of the Nation Address pero needless to say marami po tayong mga nakamit doon sa mga ipinangako ni President lalung-lalo na doon sa laban sa ipinagbabawal na droga at meron nga pong pag-aaral ang Pulse Asia na nagsasabi na karamihan naman po ng ating mga kababayan patuloy pa rin nagtitiwala at patuloy pa ring satisfied sa performance ng Presidente kasi pinanindigan niya iyong pangako niya na laban sa droga.

Nandiyan din po iyong ating mga inroads sa laban sa kurapsiyon at sa laban sa red tape ‘no, pero bilang mambabatas noong 17th Congress kasama ni Mayor Arcillas, huwag po natin kalimutan ang Presidente ang kauna-unahang presidente na pumirma ng libreng tuition sa mga state Universities and Colleges, ng libreng paggamot at gamot – Universal Health Care, libreng patubig sa mga maliliit na magsasaka, libreng Wi-Fi na pinabibilis na po natin ngayon at siyempre po iyong marami pang social pieces of legislation kasama na po dito sa kanyang giyera laban din sa COVID.

Na kasama po diyan iyong mga libreng PCR test natin at dati-rati hindi po kabahagi ng programa ng PhilHealth at saka siyempre iyong nakita natin ngayon, iyong libreng bakuna na kabahagi din po ng Universal Health Care na ating isinusulong din po doon sa 17th Congress.

LOUISA ERESPE: Thank you very much po.

GREG GREGORIO/TV-5: Good morning po, Greg Gregorio, from TV-5. First po for Asec. Sydiongco, ASec. you mentioned earlier na we have recorded and increase in cases in Laguna this past two weeks. Do you confirm po that Laguna have the highest average daily cases for the span of June 22 to June 28 and if so where do you attributed this increase in cases po?

ASEC. SYDIONGCO: Actually for our data, Laguna has the highest as well as Cavite. Lately they have been increasing all sources of contact tracing with the help of DILG and one problem is also lack of public laboratory in the area. So, we also need to encourage home— TTMF, utilization of TTMF in the area because we have found out that more patients are being home quarantined.

So, actually we called a meeting with the Municipal Health Officers yesterday to re-emphasize to them that only patients who have their own room and own comfort room in their home can be home quarantined. Otherwise, they should be placed in—for the asymptomatic and mild cases, they should be placed in the quarantine facility and for the moderate as well as those with comorbidities and the elderly be placed in the hospital infirmaries list or level one hospital and of course for the severe and critical to be placed in our level 2 and level 3 hospital.

GREG GREGORIO/TV-5:  To Sec. Roque and Sec. Dizon po. Secretaries, the WHO western pacific region has reported that the Philippines has the highest number of new cases and new deaths. How do you response this and how do you think to that will help address this situation  po? 

SEC. ROQUE: I am sorry. Sino iyong nagsabi that we have the highest death? 

GREG GREGORIO/TV-5: WHO, Western Pacific Region po, among countries under the WHO Western Pacific Region po? 

SEC. ROQUE: Well, I don’t know about that no, alam mo case fatality rate had been consistent at 1.7 which is below the worldwide average of about 2.1 and that is why continuously palagi natin pinasasalamatan ang ating mga medical frontliners kasi clearly as fast as treatment is concerned we seem to be ahead of the rest of the world which explains our below average of mortality rate of 1.7; of course ang ideal  is wala ng mamamatay at kaya nagbabakuna tayo dahil ang bakuna po bagama’t ito’y hindi garantiya na hindi na kayo magko-COVID, ito po’y garantiya naman na hindi kayo magkakasakit ng  seryoso o di kayo mamamatay dahil sa COVID. So, gusto po natin zero mortality, magpabakuna na po lahat. 

SEC. DIZON: We have one of the lowest case fatality rate in the world but of course, like what Spox said, ‘one death is one death too many’ ‘no but we really have to just work hard to make sure that we vaccinate as many and as fast as we can. That is the key, it’s been seen in many countries but the reality is we can only vaccinate many and fast if we have supply and right now global supply is still an issue and what we have trying to do and what Secretary Galvez is trying to do is get supply as fast as we can and as many as we can and with that I think we will be able to vaccinate and we have shown it pag may supply mabilis tayong magbakuna. 

GREG GREGORIO/TV-5:  Sir, lastly. Nabanggit po ninyo iyong supply, iyong mga dumating na millions of doses of Sinovac recently, on June 24 and just the other day, mayroon na po ba silang COA? 

Q: Sir, lastly. Nabanggit po ninyo iyong supply, iyon mga dumating na million of doses of Sinovac recently on June 24 and just the other day, mayroon na po ba silang COA? And aside from that, does the government encourage the use of antibody testing to know if the vaccinated individual has already generated an immunity from the vaccine [virus]?

SEC. DIZON: Sige, I will answer the first question. For the June 24 Sinovac deliveries, lumabas na ang COA as of today. So lahat iyon ay puwede nang gamitin. Kaya kanina, sa aming regular meeting, sinabihan na namin ang mga LGUs na puwede nang gamitin iyong dumating na Sinovac noong June 24.

Iyong June 28, kulang pa ang COA. So we have to wait for the Certificate of Analysis for the June 28 deliveries. Once they come out, gagamitin na iyan agad-agad.

For the second question, I really cannot answer that. It’s a very scientific question that needs to be responded to by our experts, by our medical professionals. So I won’t answer that one.

Q: Thank you, Secretary.

SEC. ROQUE: Doc, would you like to answer? Well, again ‘no, it’s a medical and scientific question. Pero remember, when there was a controversy about the rapid antibody test, hindi kasi siya effective in determining kung mayroon ka na or wala ‘no, by way of preventing the disease. But scientists have used the antibody rapid test to determine kung nagkaroon ka na. So ibig sabihin talaga, it’s a measure of having antibodies but then again, the amount of the antibodies will also determine whether or not you can still be re-infected.

So, you know, you can measure antibodies but knowing that you have antibodies is not a guarantee that you will no longer have the disease. Okay?

FRANCESCA BELLEZA/UNTV: Mayor Arcillas, ilang percent na po ba ang nabakunahan sa lungsod? Ano po ang sitwasyon ng hospitals po sa Sta. Rosa?

MAYOR ARCILLAS: Okay. Iyong report po na tumataas sa Laguna last week and this week, at iba po iyong case sa Sta. Rosa, from 500 po na active cases as of yesterday po parang 300 plus na lang at iyong recovery rate po natin ay mataas. Nano-notice ko iyan kung mataas iyong kailangan iospital kasi po lahat ng ospital ay napupuno at maraming nagpapa-refer. So far po ngayon ay hindi kasing puno nang dati iyong mga ospital natin sa Lungsod ng Sta. Rosa.  So bumaba pa po ang active cases natin at bumaba po iyong grabe na nagkakaroon nito.

FRANCESCA BELLEZA/UNTV: Thank you po. And, Secretary Dizon, ngayong July po ba, gaano po ba karami ang darating na bakuna? At anu-anong bakuna po ito?

SEC. DIZON: Ang estimated natin ay higit sa sampung milyon ang darating ngayong July. Ito ay darami na ang portfolio natin – Sinovac, Astra, Pfizer, Moderna. And mukhang pati AstraZeneca ay may darating na rin ngayong July, mga second half of July ay darating na rin iyong AstraZeneca ng private sector. So roughly about 10 million plus ang darating.

FRANCESCA BELLEZA/UNTV: Ano po ang inyong reaksiyon naman po sa sinabi ni Senator Pacquiao na kailangang busisiin ang mga binili at ginastos tulad ng pambili po ng PPE?

SEC. DIZON: Sa simula’t  sapul po, ang gobyerno po natin ay very transparent sa lahat ng ginastos at ginamit para sa response sa pandemya, kasama na riyan ang pagbili ng mga bakuna na ipinakita noong nagkaroon ng Senate hearing two weeks ago. Pinakita iyan ni Secretary Sonny Dominguez, at pinakita rin ni Secretary Galvez at Sec. Duque. So transparency will always be a foundation of this administration, so wala pong problema iyon.

SEC. ROQUE: Well, ang sa akin po ‘no, absent po siguro si Senator Pacquiao noong nagprisenta iyong mga Cabinet secretaries. Or kung hindi siya absent, he may have been preoccupied with something else.

FRANCESCA BELLEZA/UNTV: For you po, Secretary Harry Roque. Ano naman po ang inyong reaksiyon sa sinasabi po ni Senator Pacquiao na may katiwalian daw po sa DOH at iimbestigahan po si Secretary Duque?

SEC. ROQUE: Iyan na nga po iyong sinabi ‘no, kasi nanggagaling na po si Secretary Duque doon sa Senado, nag-explain na po siya doon at wala naman pong kasong naisampa matapos po iyong eksplenasyon ni Secretary Duque. At hindi ko nga lang po alam kung nandoon nga po siya noong naghi-hearing po ang Senado at kung mayroon siyang mga tanong na ibinato kay Secretary Duque noong mga pagkakataon na iyon.

FRANCESCA BELLEZA/UNTV: At ano po ang nakikita po ninyong katapusan ng ganito pong alitan between Senator Pacquiao and Pangulong Duterte po?

SEC. ROQUE: Pulitika po talaga. Pulitika po ang katapusan nito ‘no. At tingin ko ang maghuhusga ang taumbayan kung sino talaga ang mamumuno sa 2022.

FRANCESCA BELLEZA/UNTV: Thank you po.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much po. Before we proceed with question on the floor, may we also acknowledge our send-in question from Maricar Cinco of Philippine Daily Inquirer to Sec. Dizon and to Sec. Roque: Masasabi po ba natin na kasama po sa priority areas for more vaccines ang LGUs hosting economic zones? At how much more vaccine supply can an LGU with economic hub receive po?

SEC. ROQUE: Well, malinaw po na ang Region IV-A ay kasama po talaga sa original na Metro Manila Plus 8, so wala na pong kuwestiyon iyon ‘no. At isa po doon sa criteria na ginamit natin para doon sa Metro Manila Plus 8, Plus 10 ay hindi lamang iyong pagsi-surge ng kaso kung hindi iyong population density at saka iyong economic activity doon sa area. So kasama po talaga iyan sa established criteria doon sa pagdi-distribute natin ng bakuna.

MODERATOR: Iyong second question, Sec., is how much more vaccine supply can an LGU economic hub receive?

SEC. ROQUE: Well, let’s just say that Region IV-A being part of Metro Manila Plus 8, mayroon po kasing siyensiya behind this. Hindi naman po favoritism for favoritism’s sake, hindi po iyan favoritism because of the economic activity alone. Ini-explain po iyan ng isang dalubhasa doon sa ating press briefing na parang ink, na dahil ang kuta talaga ng mga kaso ay Metro Manila Plus 8, iyong mga surrounding areas, hindi na po talaga pupuwedeng magkaroon ng artificial boundary ang Metro Manila doon sa mga karatig na probinsiya. Lutasin mo iyong problema rito, malulutas iyong problema sa buong bansa dahil ang mga kaso naman na nasa Metro Manila, iyan din iyong kumakalat sa buong bansa.

So ang question doon is, how much more can we expect ‘no. Well, mayroon po talaga tayong priority na binibigay dito sa Metro Manila Plus 8 dahil consistent naman po iyong Science: Lutasin mo, magkaroon ka ng containment sa Metro Manila Plus 8 ay magkakaroon ka rin ng containment sa buong Pilipinas.

But in terms of quantity, hindi ko lang po masagot ‘no, kasi depende po talaga iyan sa pagdating ng ating mga supplies.

MODERATOR: Maraming salamat po, Sec. To Mayor Arcillas, from Rommel Madrigal of DZRJ: Bakit po 600 lang daw ang maba-vaccinate ngayon? Iyon lang po ba ang bilang ng mga frontliners sa Sta. Rosa na kailangang mabakunahan?

STA. ROSA MAYOR ARCILLAS: Iyon lang po ang ni-request ng Laguna dahil ceremonial po ito, symbolic lamang ito [COVERAGE CUT]

 

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SOURCE: PCOO-NIB (News and Information Bureau-Data Processing Center)