MANILA - Pasig City has allotted P300 million for COVID-19 vaccine procurement, Mayor Vico Sotto said Monday, adding that the local government is negotiating with different pharmaceutical firms.

"Sa ngayon po nakapaglaan kami ng roughly P300 million para makabili ng mga vaccines pero itong figure na ito maaari pang madagdagan," he told ABS-CBN's Teleradyo.

(We have so far allocated roughly P300 million to buy vaccines but this figure may still increase.)

"Basta may FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approval okay naman po sa'min 'yun. The higher the efficacy mas gusto natin 'yun, kahit sino naman po siguro."

(We're good with whatever brand is approved by the FDA. Of course, like anyone else, we want those with higher efficacy.)

The city will prioritize healthworkers and senior citizens, the mayor said.

"Kung ilan po ang available sa market at kung ilan ang kaya ng budget, gagawin po natin. I assure everyone that we will be very transparent with our procurement process once may presyo na, kung ilan, anong brand (there's a set price, number of doses, and brand)," he said.

(We will buy whatever we can with our budget and whatever amount is available in the market.)

The cities of Manila and Makati had also set aside funds to buy vaccines for their constituents, their respective mayors said.

The capital has also urged its residents to pre-register for inoculation.

• Makati pledges free COVID-19 vaccines for residents
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Pasig City, meantime, is bracing itself for a spike in coronavirus cases following the holidays, Sotto said.

"Nakita naman natin, steady decline ang nangyayari sa active cases natin ng COVID-19 pero nag-Pasko eh tsaka New Year so nakita natin pati sa ibang bansa tuwing may mga holiday, may 1, 2 or 3 weeks after talagang nagkakaroon ng spike," he said.

(We can see our active cases are steadily declining but Christmas and New Year went by and we can see from other countries that there's a spike some 3 weeks after the holidays.)

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