Former Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday sought the immediate signing and enforcement of the multi-party agreements (MPAs) entered into by local government units and private entities with the national government to boost the importation of coronavirus vaccines.
Marcos said the MPAs should be acted upon with urgency and immediately enforced in light of the alarming warning of the World Health Organization that the highly contagious Delta variant now sweeps through the country as the dominant virus strain.
“We need to have more people vaccinated, more so now because the Delta variant is now the driving force behind the recent ballooning of COVID cases across the country. And we could only do that if the MPAs are enforced because it would widen the gateway of incoming vaccine supplies,” he said.
Marcos was referring to the tripartite accord among the national and local governments and the private sector in the acquisition of vaccine supplies which appeared to have been set aside.
Under Republic Act 11525, or the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, LGUs and private entities may procure their own vaccine supplies through a multi-party agreement with the national government.
The former senator earlier lamented the arrangement appears to have been mothballed despite persistent appeals by local officials and leaders of the private sector to have the MPA signed by their counterpart in the national government.
He said a resolution has been filed with the Senate urging the Committee of the Whole to look into the MPAs which have reportedly been submitted to the national government but remained unsigned by its representatives.
“We have already seen that the LGUs are ready and capable of handling the vaccine rollout. But the roll out is turning on and off with the shortage of vaccines, here in Metro Manila, especially in the provinces,” Marcos said.