The Department of Health (DOH) vows to cooperate with the Philippine Competition Commission on the alleged irregularity in the procurement of pneumococcal vaccine.

"You can be assured that our bids and awards committee respects all the process according to the Republic Act 9184 or the Procurement Act of 1998," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said during the ''Laging Handa'' virtual public briefing on Monday .

"So if there is a problem, we will look into that. We will cooperate, we will give all the information needed by the Philippine Competition Commission. All the documents, we will give them what they need and we will fully cooperate with the PCC," he added.

Duque said the DOH has not yet received a copy of the complaint which was filed with the Philippine Competition Commission .

"We are awaiting the complaint which was filed with the Philippine Competition Commission. However, I have already tasked the legal service group of the Department of Health to look into this with a sense of urgency," he said.

"The complaint was not filed with the DOH. This was filed with the PCC and we are awaiting the copy of the complaint so that we can answer this point by point," he added.

Last week, the United Filipino Consumers and Commuters, represented by former Abakada Rep. Jonathan dela Cruz asked the PCC to temporarily suspend the procurement of pneumonia vaccines due to some issues in the bidding process.

Dela Cruz said, according to UFCC, Pfizer and Zuellig Pharma which are the only distributor of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have allegedly committed antitrust practices which result in higher vaccine costs and lesser coverage for the people. Robina Asido/DMS