President Duterte welcomes additional one million doses of SinoPharm vaccines
MANILA – The Philippines received an additional one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines from SinoPharm, donated by the People’s Republic of China.
Speaking from Davao City, President Duterte said the vaccines have been received “with much gratitude and high hopes” in the fight against COVID-19 and its variants.
“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 of technical support on COVID-19 response,” he said in a prepared statement.
He went on the describe the initiatives as “a testament of the goodwill of the Chinese government and the deep strong relations between the Philippines and China.” He added with the vaccines herd immunity may be achieved sooner than expected.
President Duterte called on the Filipino people to get vaccinated.
“Do not waste precious time as every single day is a risk for you and your loved ones,” he explained as a significant number of Filipinos remain hesitant to get inoculated.
He also paid tribute to medical frontline workers, both in the Philippines and abroad for their selflessness since the beginning of the pandemic during Q1 last year.
He acknowledged the achievements made by other cabinet officials to ensure a steady flow of vaccines. He said vaccination would be more effective if the general public would still adhere to the minimum health standards especially with the presence of the deadly Delta variant.
“Before I end, may I request the His Excellency Ambassador Huang Xilian to convey to President Xi Jinping my deepest gratitude and many, many thanks for China’s attitude to us, that even though 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 concluded.
For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian said the Philippines is beset with the resurgence of COVID-19 cases due to the Delta and other variants.
“China feels keenly for the Philippine government and people in this trying moment. We have prioritized the urgent needs of the Philippines for vaccines, and decided to donate another million doses of SinoPharm vaccines,” Ambassador Huang said in his remarks from the Chinese Embassy in Manila.
He added they have substantially increased the vaccine supply in the Philippines as nearly 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines are due to arrive this month.
The Chinese Ambassador said he expects the total number of China’s vaccines delivered to the Philippines will soon reach 30 million by the end of August.
“Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and President Duterte, we have rendered to each other firm support and fought the onslaught shoulder to shoulder since the outbreak of the pandemic,” he said.
He said the difficult time highlights the friendship and partnership between the two countries and peoples.
Ambassador Huang underscored the need for unity and cooperation during this trying times as he vowed to continue the cooperation and provide more vaccines to help defeat the pandemic and revitalize the economy as solidarity “should prevail over attempts to politicize the issue such as origins tracing and shift the blame to others.”
“I am fully convinced that as long as we pull together to build a great wall against COVID-19 and promote economic recovery, we will win the victory over the pandemic at an early date,” he ended. (Melo M. Acuña)
President Rodrigo Duterte (left) delivering his remarks from Davao City. Chinese Ambassador to Manila Huang Xilian speaking from the Chinese Embassy in Manila, (right). (Screen shots from PCOO Facebook page/Melo M. Acuna)