A petition for certiorari and mandamus was filed yesterday before the Supreme Court (SC) to compel government agencies to disclose documents regarding the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.
Former Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz filed the petition, together with lawyers Jeffrey Constantino and Nizzane Vico.
“The cost of the vaccine was like P113.5-billion… We want the [SC] to compel the departments into releasing those documents so we could know if the price is correct or if it is overpriced. With the large amount involved, this is imbued with public interest and therefore, the public must know if the price paid for the vaccines bought from 2020 up to 2022 was correct,” said Cadiz.
He said the concerned agencies have repeatedly denied their requests for documents for almost a year.
Among the respondents are the Department of Health (DOH), through Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and/or former Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, the Department of Finance (DOF), through Secretary Ralph Recto, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), through Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and the Commission on Audit (COA), through Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba.
There are requirements before documents can be disclosed under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, according to Cadiz.
He added they aim to compare the prices paid by others to verify the accuracy of the amount spent for the vaccines.
The petition filed also include a prayer for a conduct of oral arguments.