No strings attached as Philippines to be one of first donees of COVID-19 vaccines from US - envoy
The Philippines will be among the first countries to receive vaccine donation from the United States being one of its close allies and the donation will not have any strings attached, an envoy said on Monday.
Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said US President Joe Biden is set to announce this week the distribution of 80 million vaccines that are available for the world.
"And this is just the beginning, I understand. But we are there at the first batch that will be sent out to the Philippines, specifically the close allies of the United States, they are the ones that they prioritize and also those countries that are really in need," he said in a recorded press briefing.
Romualdez, however, said he was not sure how many doses of vaccines will be given to the Philippines
"But this donation without any strings attached to it so to speak. It's just really part of a program that they have, that will start really helping other nations to be able to fight this virus," he said.
Currently, the fate of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the US is hanging. President Rodrigo Duterte has yet to make a decision if his administration will finally terminate or not the military treaty. Celerina Monte/DMS
