BY GENALYN KABILING
The Philippines may ask for a “credit line” from Russia and China to facilitate the country’s payment for the coronavirus vaccine if it is too expensive, President Duterte said Monday night.
The President said the government is willing to pay in installment for the vaccine supply that will be offered by the two countries to the Philippines.
“This is not for free for after all they did not develop the vaccine without great expense and also the human effort involved. Bibilhin natin ‘yan,” he said during a televised address Monday.
“If it is quite expensive then I will ask my friend (Russian) President (Vladimir) Putin and (Chinese) President Xi Jinping to give us a credit, parang utang, a credit line but we will pay not in one payment but by installments. Basta ang sinasabi ko magbayad tayo. Hindi ito libre,” he said.
Duterte has proposed the payment scheme for the vaccine in case the country will be “short of money.” He recognized that the like other nations, the country’s economy has been weakened by the coronavirus pandemic.
“All of the economy of the world, individual countries, have fallen flat. Lahat ngayon nagkakaroon ng economic hemorrhage. It is uncontrollable because people cannot really work.
They cannot be productive. And so you have a problem at hand,” he said.
The President expressed gratitude anew to Russia and Russia for their offer to supply vaccines to the Philippines once these are available. He said a vaccine, which comes with a great expense, is the “only salvation available to humankind” in the face of the pandemic. (Genalyn Kabiling)
