The Duterte administration’s handling of the COVID-19 vaccine is not just an issue of incompetence, but also of selfishness.
Imagine, it took 43 days for the Department of Health to approve the shipment of vaccines from the United States. Pfizer got tired of waiting and sent its vaccines somewhere else. The President blamed the US and threatened to end the Visiting Forces Agreement. How stupid! Then, our President admitted that most of the soldiers and officials around him have already gotten their vaccine shots.
As President, he must provide leadership. The responsibility rests at the door of Malacañang. He has betrayed our trust in him by not buying vaccines promptly like our neighboring countries have done. It is selfish for politicians to get inoculated ahead, and let the public be damned: “I’ve got mine, so screw you!”
JONATHAN C. FOE
jonathan_foe@hotmail.com