President Rodrigo Duterte has designated Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr, the chief implementer of the National Task Force against Covid-19, as “vaccine czar.”
In his public address Monday, Duterte authorized Galvez to negotiate with manufacturers of vaccines against Covid-19.
“Ang pagbili ng bakuna, the negotiation, manufacture, production or distribution, binigay ko yan kay Secretary Galvez,” according to the Chief Executive.
“Only Secretary Galvez is authorized to negotiate or whatever. Isa lang. Ayaw ko yang committee-committee, matagal yan. I have great faith in Charlie to really come up with the solutions for the problem,” he added.
Duterte previously said he would favor a government-to-government deal for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccines to prevent to avoid corruption.