Watch your back. And your front, left and right.
This was the advice given by senators to vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. after their meeting on Wednesday evening, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.
“We advised Sec. Galvez to mind his back, front, left and right sides. He may have the best of intentions but there may be people pushing him out front to do the talking and explaining to take advantage of his credibility while pursuing their own interests. He assured us that he will make it very hard for those people to even have an opening for that opportunity,” Lacson said in a statement.
Earlier, Lacson had advised Galvez to be wary of the “incompetent,” who he said can be infectious.
“Ang incompetence like the coronavirus is infectious. Nakakahawa yan. If you hang around with incompetent people in the long run mahahawa ka,” he told Galvez at the first hearing of the Senate Committee of the Whole on the vaccination program last Jan. 11.
Lacson attended Wednesday evening’s meeting with Galvez, along with Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
Magalong, a member of Philippine Military Academy Class 1982, relayed to Lacson – a member of PMA Class 1971 – Galvez’s request for a meeting. Galvez is a member of PMA Class 1985. Meanwhile, dela Rosa is a member of PMA Class 1986.
During the meeting, Galvez apologized to Lacson for his claims in a Zoom meeting discussing vaccine updates on Test, Trace, Treat (T3).
Lacson debunked Galvez’s claims that some senators were demonizing vaccine developers or hurting the ongoing negotiations with vaccine manufacturers.
Meanwhile, Lacson reiterated the executive and legislative branches share the same goal, “to ensure our people are vaccinated against COVID-19, with no room for overpricing and other irregularities.”
“The executive and legislative departments must work together in this regard,” he said.
