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MANILA - Sorsogon aims to vaccinate 80 percent of its eligible population against COVID-19 by yearend, its governor said Monday as he issued an executive order providing incentives.

The province has so far inoculated 28 percent of its qualified population, said Governor Francis "Chiz" Escudero.

"We’re looking at 80 percent before the end of the year. In fact today we issued an executive order which seeks to ramp up the vaccination and provide incentives to barangays and muni that will meet the target before the end of the year," he told ANC's Headstart.

"We're quite confident it will work if we do it this way. For example, for 100 percent vaccinated barangays, we're giving them a monetary incentive. If an entire household is fully vaccinated they get to move more freely. They get to allow their relatives to come home with less restrictions."

Sorsogon has received 30,000 to 40,000 doses in recent weeks versus 1,500 to 2,000 doses during the initial rollout, according to Escudero.

"Maganda na 'yung dating ng bakuna at niroroll-out naman namin kaya lang may konting resistance pagdating sa Sinovac and Sinopharm and we're trying to overcome that right now," he said.

"Of late we've been receiving Pfizer, Moderna and Janssen, the response has been very well. Right now the Provincial Information Office is trying to overcome the initial negative reaction with respect to some forms of vaccine."

Local officials and department heads can face neglect of duty and misconduct charges for vaccine wastage or unjustified failure to ramp up the immunization program, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya earlier said.

• Duterte wants local governments punished for slow COVID-19 vaccination

Escudero questioned the interior department's threat to file complaints as it was the national government that allocated vaccines primarily in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

"Sana pantay ang distribution dahil kung di nila kami bibigyan ng bakuna, sa'min naman tataas ang kaso. Sana binase nila sa ratio and population ng kada probinsiya ang distribution ng vaccine from the start," he said.

(I hope distribution would be fair because if they don't give us vaccines, our provinces' virus cases will increase. They should have based it from the ratio and population of provinces from the start.)

"Here comes DILG threatening to file cases against LGU officials for not being able to roll out the vaccines that of late have been coming plentiful. Nung mga nagdaang buwan handa naman kami, kulang ang bakunang pinapadala sa amin."

(We were prepared to rollout the vaccines the previous months, we just lacked supply.)

• DILG urges LGUs to fast track COVID-19 vaccination program

The Philippines has fully inoculated 29.3 million individuals while 34.4 million have received an initial dose as of Saturday, according to government data.