During a Senate hearing on the proposed COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto strongly opposed the provision giving PhilHealth an additional P500 million for the indemnification fund. The state health insurer's financial statements show it has a reserve fund of ₱116 billion as of September 2020 and a net income of ₱5.3 billion that year, Recto said.
Recto and Angara both clarified that the ₱500 million sought in the initial draft of the bill is not the entire indemnification fund, but an augmentation to existing PhilHealth funds. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco Duque were present during the hearing. "Nothing in this bill will make it faster for the national government to procure, isn't it? If the private sector and the local government may perfected contract and the private sector may downpayment already, hindi dahilan yung indemnification?” Recto said.
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