President Rodrigo Duterte said he prefers a government-to-government transaction with China regarding the purchase of coronavirus disease vaccines once they are available.

Duterte also clarified that the Philippines would pay for the vaccines that it would purchase.

"Let me tell everybody that we're not going to ask for free (vaccines). We will pay. So it would be better if government-to-government transaction," he said in a taped public message aired on Tuesday.

He said that through government-to-government deal, there would be no corruption.

Duterte noted that he read from a newspaper that the meeting with a Chinese pharmaceutical, which has been on its advance clinical trial, did not push through.

"The Chinese counterpart probably did not have any good understanding with his partner and so they decided to back out," he said.

"So to the Chinese government and to the people who are really parlaying the vaccine, we --- you need not look for partners. We can make it government-to-government and I will pay you," Duterte stressed. Celerina Monte/DMS