MANILA (UPDATE) - Makati City will provide free COVID-19 vaccines for all its residents, its mayor said Monday.

“This is our number one priority for 2021. I want each and every Makatizen to receive both doses of the coronavirus vaccine for free to protect them and their families against the virus,” Makati Mayor Abby Binay said in a statement.

The city government earmarked P1 billion from its savings for the COVID-19 vaccination program, she bared. City officials are also coordinating with vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. for the procurement of the vaccine, she added.

The fund comes from the local government's savings, the mayor told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo Tuesday as she urged Makati residents to pre-register for the inoculation program, which is targeted to launch next week.

The city's residents prefer Western brands such as Pfizer, Janssen, and AstraZeneca, Binay said.

"We will not discriminate. Kung sa brand, kung kayo ay mayaman, mahirap, lahat po mabibigyan," she said.

(We will not discriminate on the brand, if you're rich or poor, everyone will be given a vaccine.)

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Binay said she would ask the city council to pass a supplemental budget as soon as they get the green light from the country's pandemic task force.

“We will exhaust all means to get the much-needed vaccines early and have all Makatizens vaccinated. The city will also assist companies and businesses that would like to buy vaccines for their employees and workers. We are aiming for 100 percent vaccination in Makati,” she said.

Since the pandemic began, Makati City has logged 10,124 coronavirus infections, of which 375 fatalities were linked to the virus.

It currently has 290 active cases while 9,459 people have recovered from the disease, data from the city government as of Jan. 2 showed.

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