There seems to be no end to the word war between Health Secretary Franciso Duque 3^rd, Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Senator Panfilo Lacson over a supposed early deal with US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer to supply the country with vaccines for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) as early as January next year.

On Thursday, Duque denied that Pfizer promised or committed to provide the Philippine government with 10 million doses of its vaccine for the coronavirus disease 2019, contradicting the earlier statements made by Locsin and Lacson.

“No, walang ganoon (there was nothing like that). It was all indicative numbers. There was no definitive supply. I think if you will get a chance to talk to Sec. Galvez, he would tell you there is a problem in the production of these vaccines as we are talking because meron daw problem sa kanilang (because there is a problem in their) raw materials,” he said in a television interview.

Galvez is the National Policy Against Covid-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar, whose first name is Carlito.

“Besides, there was nothing binding. Nothing in our talks. So this was all open-ended, exploratory, and it was really meant to just get the data from Pfizer to know more about the safety profile of the vaccine, efficacy, result of the clinical phase 1 and 2 trials because at that time they are still not done with their clinical trials phase 3,” he added.

Lacson on Wednesday night said it was Duque who “dropped the ball” or derailed the possible vaccine deal with Pfizer by not submitting on time the Confidentiality Disclosure Agreement (CDA) for the deal.

The senator said that as early as July this year, Locsin started talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the purchase of Covid vaccines from Pfizer, which was arranged by Ambassador to the US Jose Romualdez. Lacson added this would have resulted in the Philippines getting vaccines from Pfizer as early as January next year.

As to the funding for the Pfizer vaccines, Locsin said that the Department of Finance could get support from either or both the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“Thus, they could have secured the delivery of 10 million Pfizer vaccines as early as January next year, way ahead of Singapore but for the indifference of Secretary Duque who failed to work on the necessary documentary requirement, namely, the confidentiality disclosure agreement (CDA) as he should have done,” Lacson said.

“The more important question is, how many lives would be saved between January and when (if at all) the vaccines may be made available again to Filipinos,” he pointed out.

Lacson said a Pfizer representative even followed up the CDA, which was supposed to come from Duque. It was only last November that the CDA for the Pfizer deal became available.

As for Locsin, it looks like he wants to shoot steel balls at the person who botched or “dropped the ball” on the early Pfizer deal.

The Foreign Affairs secretary tweeted on Tuesday: “That said, my thanks just the same to US Sec of State Mike Pompeo we — Babe Romualdez and I — got 10 million doses of Pfizer financed by [the] World Bank and ADB to be shipped thru FEDEX to Clark in January. BUT SOMEBODY DROPPED THE BALL. I have steel ball bearings. I just need a slingshot.”

The government is still in talks with Pfizer but if a deal is concluded, the US firm could deliver its Covid vaccines to the Philippines by March or the second quarter at the earliest. CURRENTPH

-PC