Private firms want to import more vaccines
THE National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) has appealed to the government to allow private companies to import doses of the vaccine for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) without paying any taxes.
In a statement, NGCP President and Chief Executive Anthony Almeda appealed to lawmakers to pass a law encouraging the private sector to provide vaccination to its employees.
Currently, only the government can procure vaccines against the virus.
Almeda, who intends to obtain the vaccines for employees of the country’s grid operator, said such a move would enable businesses to give the economy a much-needed boost in activity.
“Vaccination, as well as mass testing, is focally critical in the fight against Covid-19. We need to prevent, detect, isolate and treat. We need to jumpstart the economy now, but we need to ensure that we stack the odds against infections in the workplace,” said Almeda.
“With a vaccination program in place for the private sector, more businesses and industries will be able to regain some semblance of normal activity, bounce back and put the economy on its way to recovery after almost a year of slow down,” he added.
NGCP, with a 5,000-strong workforce, continues to monitor the progress and rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in other countries.
It is also assessing the possibility of providing its employees, including essential personnel comprised of grid dispatchers and transmission line personnel, with the necessary doses as soon as it becomes available.
“We encourage our counterparts in both the public and private sectors, to be similarly pro-active in protecting their employees, so that we can keep the economy running at full speed,” Almeda said.
The company renewed its commitment to enforce all health and safety protocols mandated by the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Employment to mitigate the spread of the virus in the workplace.
It also continues to help local governments, national health agencies, and various communities fight the disease.
Earlier this year, the NGCP donated P1 billion to the national government to aid Filipinos in the early days of quarantine protocols.
About 1.25 million food bags, 10 mechanical ventilators, six reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) machines, 20,520 test kits, 100 test booths, and testing services, nine ambulances, isolation rooms, and 4.6 million personal protective equipment or PPEs (masks, gloves, bunny suits etc.) were donated to over 1,028 local government units, more than 300 public and private medical facilities, and countless other public and private organizations.
Recently, the firm donated three additional ambulances to various local governments hosting its facilities, and 10,000 test kits, 50 test booths, and testing services to Pasay City.