Lawyers ask SC to direct disclosure of COVID-19 vaccine supply agreements

A group of lawyers on Thursday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to direct several government agencies to disclose certain information regarding the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, claiming their requests were repeatedly denied.

In their petition, the lawyers argued that the government’s refusal to share information violates the public’s right to information on matters of public concern under Section 7, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.

“We want the SC right now, hopefully to compel the departments into releasing those documents para malaman natin kung totoo ba ‘yung mga presyo or kung may overpriced. Sa laki ng halaga ay this is imbued with public interest,” former Solicitor General and past Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Jose Anselmo Cadiz told reporters.

(We want the SC right now, hopefully, to compel the departments to release those documents so we can find out whether the prices are accurate or if there’s overpricing. Since a huge amount was involved, this is imbued with public interest.)

Cadiz said the government allotted P113.5 billion for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines from 2020 to 2022.

Aside from Cadiz, the other petitioners are Atty. Randall Tabayoyong, Atty. Jeffrey Constantino and Atty. Nizzane Vico.

Meanwhile, the respondents are the Department of Health, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, and the Commission on Audit.

Cadiz said they had been requesting documents from the agencies for at least a year but were met with “denial after denial.”

He said that other countries had divulged details regarding vaccine procurement.

“Ganon naman po, diba? Kapag bumili ka, dapat alam ang presyo. Lalong-lalo na ang pera ay pera ng taong bayan. 'Yun po ang aming interes dito,” he said.

(That’s how it should be, right? When you buy something, you should know the price, especially when the money involved is the people’s money. That’s our concern here.)

“Lahat po tayo, makikita natin at malalaman natin kung tama o hindi. At kung meron naman katiwalian ay bahala na po na sampahan ng kaso ‘yung mga tao na involved dito,” he added.

(All of us will be able to see and determine whether it’s right or not. And if there’s any corruption involved, then let those responsible be charged accordingly.) — VBL, GMA Integrated News