Kuya Bong lauds LGU, private sector initative

Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go expressed his gratitude to local government units (LGU) and the private sector for their efforts to secure doses of coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccines from AstraZeneca.

The senator – who virtually attended the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine government, participating LGU, private sector donors, and drug firm AstraZeneca for the procurement of 17 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines – stressed the importance of the vaccine to help the country rebound from the pandemic.

The private sector had pledged to donate 2.6 million doses from AstraZeneca through the ‘A Dose of Hope’ program last November. Now a similar deal has been signed, which will secure an additional 14.4 million doses for the country. The first batch of doses is expected to arrive by July.

He also praised the combined efforts of the national government, LGU, and private sector for delivering a timely and effective national vaccination program for Filipinos and reiterated the importance of a whole-of-nation approach in addressing the challenges of the pandemic and uplifting the lives of the people.

“This is a true showcase of how the Philippine government and private groups can unite in protecting its people against the pandemic. To everyone involved in the ‘A Dose of Hope’ project, I congratulate you on this achievement, and may you never tire in supporting our countrymen and women, especially those who need it the most,” Go said.

The ‘A Dose of Hope’ project is an initiative by the private sector to procure vaccines for the government. It is led by Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion.

“We are all part of the solution to this public health issue. Therefore, we must all share the responsibility if we want to recover from this pandemic,” said Go.

Meanwhile, Go urged concerned authorities to ensure that poor and vulnerable sectors, as well as medical and uniformed frontliners are prioritized to receive the vaccine in the first phases of administration as directed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Go echoed his call for a nationwide information campaign to educate the public on the various processes being undertaken and the distribution plan for the vaccine roll-out to raise the public’s confidence and allay fears.