Manila Mayor Isko Moreno said Friday he is willing to be inoculated publicly and even receive the Sinovac vaccine against COVID-19 as long as it is approved by government.

Moreno said he had been "half-hearted" about a drug, but his opinion changed when it was the same vaccine given to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Although Moreno did not identify it, Widodo was known to have received the coronavirus vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech.

"This is now my personal belief. Sertipikahan ng FDA (Food and Drug Administration) at ng mga espesiyalista ng ating bansa na ito ay ligtas at nagkamit ng EUA (emergency use authorization), anuman ang product na ‘yan, kahit saan pa sila galing, at ‘yung ating mga espesiyalista have affixed their name and signature there, ituturok ko sa katawan ko," he told ANC's Headstart.

(This is now my personal belief. Have the FDA and the country's specialists certify that this is safe and give it the EUA, whatever that product is, no matter where it came from, as long as the specialists have affixed their name and signature there, I will have it inoculated.)

Moreno likens this to the "principle of temperature" where "anything above 0 is positive."

"So if I will have 50 percent protection for my body if I'm going to be infected by COVID-19, it is still better than zero," he said.

He said he is willing to have his inoculation done publicly to encourage more people to get vaccinated as well despite the risks.

"Kung gusto natin ng katapatan at nanghihikayat tayo ng iba, ng mga kababayan natin, let’s show them that you’re going to shoulder also some level of risk, the same thing na nararamdaman ng ating mga mamamayan," he said.

(If we want transparency and we're encouraging people, our countrymen, let's show them that you're going to shoulder some level of risk, the same thing that they will feel.)

Sinovac has yet to finish its EUA application in the Philippines, but it may start its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in the country anytime, according to FDA Director General Eric Domingo.

• China's Sinovac may start COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in PH anytime — FDA

So far, only Pfizer and AstraZeneca have been approved for emergency use.

• PH approves AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
• Philippines approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use