Philippines receives 739,200 doses of donated Sinopharm vaccine

A total of 739,200 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, part of the one million doses donated by the Chinese government, arrived in the Philippines on Friday.

According to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, the vaccines landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 at 5:55 p.m.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III welcomed the arrival of the vaccine.

In a live briefing, President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his gratitude to China, saying the donations are a testament to the deep relationship between the two countries.

“We are receiving these life-saving vaccines with much gratitude and high hopes as we continue our fight against COVID-19 and its variants,” Duterte said.

“My deepest gratitude goes to China for the various COVID-19 assistance extended in the past including the donation of vital medical supplies and equipment and the provision to technical support of COVID-19 response,” he added.

"Before I end, may I request his excellency Ambassador Huang Xilian to convey to President Xi Jinping my deepest gratitude and many, many thanks for China's attitude to us," Duterte said.

“In these challenging times of geopolitics, Philippines will stay neutral and remain true to what we have guaranteed China at least during my term,” he added.

Duterte thus repeated what he said at a meeting of the PDP-Laban party that he was "neutral" in his ties with the United States and China, which he referred to as the Philippines' "friend."

"That is what PDP-Laban stands for, it stands for our country that is really  free from intervention. Kaya ako nag neutral (That's why I became neutral) so I made friends with China but I never abandoned my relationship with America," Duterte said during the party meeting in early July.

Duterte said that though the vaccines would help in the government’s vaccination program, it would only work if the public would get vaccinated.

“I encourage all Filipinos to get inoculated once your turn comes. Do not waste precious time as every single day is a risk for you and your loved ones,” he said.

He also urged the public to observe minimum public health standards such as the wearing of face masks, handwashing and social distancing, and to remain at home if possible. 

“We cannot afford to be complacent especially with the presence of the Delta variant… With your support, I am certain that we will see better and brighter days ahead and emerge stronger as one nation,” he said.

For his part, Huang reiterated China’s commitment to support the country amid the pandemic.

“This difficult times highlights our friendship and partnership between our two nations… we are committed to continuing this cooperation with the Philippines and providing more vaccines to help defeat the virus and revitalize the economy,” he said.

As of August 12, a total of 12,282,006 Filipinos have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

On Friday, the Philippines logged a total of 1,807,800 confirmed cases, of which 1,653,351 have recovered and 31,198 have died. —LDF/NB, GMA News