Crishelle Phoebe Yu ||

The municipalities of Eastern Visayas have allotted funds for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines for their residents.

Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez stated that the city has allocated a P350-million for the procurement of the vaccines and will include a purchase of 270,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to inoculate all residents aged 18 and above. 

In Maasin, Southern Leyte, Mayor Nacional Mercado said that the city is shelling out an initial amount of P15 million for the procurement of vaccines to guarantee that the target population of 90,086 will receive free COVID Vaccines this year.

“Rest assured that we will work together with the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) for the procurement of affordable, clinically tested, approved, and safe vaccines from qualified manufacturers,”  Mercado emphasized.

The province of Leyte has allotted P20 million to vaccinate between 20,000 to 30,000 people, while Tacloban City has reportedly set aside P30 million.

In Northern Samar, with a target of 70% of the province’s population, Governor Edwin Ongchuan stressed that residents aged 18 years old and below are not qualified for the vaccine. He also encouraged the LGUs to allocate counterpart funds for the vaccination program.

“With 70 percent or more of our constituents vaccinated against Covid-19, we can hope to have herd immunity in the province and I hope the national government will extend support to this noble objective,” Ongchuan mentioned.

Meanwhile, outside of Eastern Visayas, Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said the city has allocated PHP82.7 million for the procurement of the vaccines, which is included in the city’s PHP2.3 billion budget for 2021.