See how the World Bank played politics in my country, China promises the Philippines 500k vaccine to be delivered Nov of last year for PRO BONO. At the same time we were negotiating a loan from the World Bank. The precondition for that loan approval is for the purchase of Pfizer or other Western vaccine only and without the need for a clinical trial. Now the Chinese renew their initial offer after the request from our Foreign Secretary Locsin, but they need to follow protocol so a clinical trial is needed for FDA approval, see the bias and inconsistency of our gov't official, We FXXK UP big time because of our bureaucratic incompetence.
addendum: I don't understand why we have to obtain loan from the World Bank, we have multiple choices now with favorable terms, one of them is CHINA.
DFA: China OKs P3.72-B grant to PH, aims to donate 500k COVID vaccine doses
DFA: China OKs P3.72-B grant to PH, aims to donate 500k COVID vaccine doses
Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News
Posted at Jan 16 2021 07:27 PM
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MANILA — China intends to donate some 500,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to the Philippines, “in keeping with President Xi’s commitment to President Duterte," according to visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Saturday.
A grant agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation worth P3.72 billion was also signed by the two nations for the financing of livelihood projects, infrastructure facilities and "other projects to be mutually agreed upon by the two governments," among others.
China's foreign minister announced the development to Foreign Affairs Chief Teodoro Locsin Jr. during their bilateral meeting earlier in the day, according to a DFA statement.
The DFA said this was the 7th grant provided by China since 2016.
"This brings the cumulative grant resources received from the Chinese Government to a total of 3.25 billion Chinese yuan, or approximately PHP24.16 (b)illion," the statement read.
Meanwhile, asked to provide specifics on the vaccine to be donated by China, Ivy Banzon-Abalos, DFA Office of Strategic Communication and Research’s executive director, told reporters in a text message that “it will be up to the donor normally to determine which companies the vaccine will come from.”
Banzon-Abalos said it would be best to ask vaccine czar Sec. Carlito Galvez regarding the details of the vaccine donation and its timetable.
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“China has said it will take into consideration our side’s needs,” she added.
Locsin, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to Wang for China’s assistance to the Philippines’ public health response since the outbreak through in-kind and equipment donations.
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian earlier confirmed that COVID-19 vaccines developed by China-backed pharmaceutical company Sinovac may arrive "as early as next month,” citing a "new era of partnership" between Philippines and China.
Do you have a source for the World Bank loan which only specifies a Pfizer/western vaccine?
