MANILA—President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday assured that the national government will swiftly deploy vaccines to local government units as soon as they arrive.

“We will distribute the vaccines as fast as they come to our possession,” Duterte said during his recorded public address from Malacañang.

Duterte made the statement shortly after Manila Mayor Isko Moreno complained about the government’s “super slow” vaccine deployment.

The President said government can now distribute COVID-19 shots faster as the country is now receiving a steady supply of vaccines.

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“So ganito 'yan, napipilitan kasi ako kasi lahat naghihintay. Pero ang sabi nga nila, hindi naman --- ang sabi nga ni ano noon it came in trickles. Ngayon, medyo volume-volume na. So maghintay lang kayo because these things must be distributed immediately the fastest way that we can do it,” Duterte said.

“So iyon ang tandaan ninyo na mabilis na ang dating ngayon at mabilis din ang bigay natin. It goes without saying na mabilis pagpasok, bilis din tayo magpalabas sa inyo.”

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez, meanwhile, reported that the Philippines is set to receive 7 million vaccine doses this month, and another 10 million by June.

This includes at least 2.2 million doses of Pfizer vaccines from the COVAX facility this May, and almost 2 million doses of Astrazeneca shots by June, also from the COVAX facility.

“Ang magandang balita, Mr. President, supposed to be 1.2 million lang ang makukuha natin na Pfizer pero nagtanong sila, kaya niyo bang i-administer iyong 2.2 ngayong May? So sinabi po namin, kayang-kaya. Kayang-kaya namin itanggap,” Galvez said.

“So iyong mangyayari po iyong Pfizer, makukuha po natin iyong 2.2 million this May sa COVAX po . . . And then sa coming June, mayroon po tayong darating na almost two million po na AstraZeneca. Ito po 'yong pang-second dose doon sa nauna po na 2 million ng COVAX.”

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The Philippine government plans to inoculate 70 million adult Filipinos before the end of this year. The government has so far administered over 2.6 million COVID-19 shots at 3,458 vaccination sites.

“Tumaas na po ang ating average ngayon po nationwide 83,000 na po ang nakuha po natin. At ang NCR po, nag-report po ang NCR na nakakuha po sila kahapon ng 59,000 doses. Ibig sabihin po, pataas po nang pataas ito dahil kasi ang NCR po from 59,000 aakyatin po nila 'yong 120,000 per day,” Galvez said.

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