Sec. Carlito Galvez, chief implementer and vaccine czar of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) assured Gov. Arthur Yap that he will act on the request of the Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) to fast track the rollout of vaccines in the province.
This was the action taken by the IATF contained in its letter-reply to Yap. The letter-reply was dated April 23, 2021 and signed by Galvez. A full copy of Galvez’s letter is published on page 5 of this newspaper.
The governor, in an earlier letter to Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, dated April 10, 2021, made a request to hasten the vaccine roll out here.
The governor asked the National Government to hasten the vaccination program in order to inoculate as many Boholanos as possible and achieve herd immunity and finally open Bohol tourism to more visitors including foreign tourists.
Galvez said in his letter, “This has reference to your [Yap’s] letter dated 10 April 2021 on the request to fast track the delivery of [Coronavirus disease] COVID-19 vaccines in your province. Let me first extend our deepest appreciation to the Provincial Government of Bohol for the incessant support to the national government in our fight against this pandemic. May we also applaud your dedication in serving your respective constituents and showcasing innovation and creativity in managing the cases in your area in delivering public service.”
Galvez told Yap in the letter-reply that the National Government is committed to provide vaccine doses to every Filipino.
Galvez wrote to Yap: “It is our goal to vaccinate every Filipino, that is why the National Government procured enough vaccines to inoculate one hundred percent (100%) of our adult population.”
Galvez set the expectation that even if the National Government wants to vaccinate every Filipino, there is a problem when it comes to vaccine supply. Galvez assured Yap that the province will get its share of vaccine doses as soon as the vaccine supply arrives in the country.
“However, we recognize that we are working under the context of the limited global supply of the COVID-19 vaccines. Despite these trying times, rest assured that your province will be given enough doses to inoculate 100% of your adult population, and it will be delivered in accordance with the existing laws, rules, and regulations,” Galvez said.
At this point, Galvez told Yap that his request to hasten the vaccine roll out in Bohol is now in the turf of the DOH. It will be the DOH which will act on Yap’s request.
Galvez wrote: “In this regard, we have favorably endorsed your request to the Department of Health for their evaluation and appropriate action.”
“Kindly accept our deepest appreciation for your continued support during this time of national crisis. We wish you continued health and safety as we pursue our work in the service of the Filipino amidst COVID-19 pandemic. As we look forward to better days ahead for our families, communities, and country, may we take on the learnings in this pandemic and continue to work together as we build back a better Philippines,” Galvez concluded in his letter.
BOHOL’S REQUEST TO FAST TRACK VACCINE ROLL OUT
Yap, in a letter dated April 10, 2021, asked the National Government to fast track the roll out of the vaccines to the Boholanos in the midst of rising number of Covid cases here.
As of May 1, 2021, there are 873 active Covid cases recorded in Bohol, based on the report of the Bohol Inter Agency Task Force (BIATF).
In the Apr. 10, 2021 letter, which was addressed to Romulo-Puyat, Yap asked the National Government to hasten the Covid vaccine roll out in Bohol so that the province may be able to open its tourism-centric economy.
The governor stressed that about 800,000 Boholanos need to be vaccinated in order to achieve herd immunity, and restore the vitality of the local economy, which is heavily reliant on the tourism industry.
In his letter to Puyat, Yap cited that Bohol is very concerned about how the lockdowns happening in other parts of the country are impacting the province’s tourism industry.
He said in the letter to Puyat: “Before the NCR went on a lockdown, we were looking forward to a Holy Week where major resorts and hotels in Panglao, were, for the first time since last March of 2020, significantly booked. All these bookings were summarily canceled when the lockdown was declared. Along the way, the hopes of restarting our severely affected tourism sector were also put on hold.”
In February of this year, in the hope of jumpstarting the tourism economy, the Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants (BAHRR) in partnership with the PGBh launched an online promo dubbed as “Balik sa Bohol: Online Sale”, wherein all participating hotels and restaurants offered big discounts on room accommodations to tourists who want to visit Bohol.
The online sale was a huge success as all participating resorts and hotels were almost fully booked, especially during the dates where the Philippines celebrates the Holy Week, according to the governor.
However, just before the Holy Week, Covid cases in Metro Manila surged, which led to the imposition of Enhanced Community Qurarantine (ECQ).
Confirmed bookings of tourists from other parts of the country were cancelled and the hype and excitement of the tourism sector here in Bohol subsided, as a result of the cancellations, according to Yap.
In a province where more than 70% of the economy is driven by the services sector, the pandemic put at least 200,000 Boholanos out of work, Yap told Romulo-Puyat.
The faster roll out of vaccines will help create a regional bubble where Bohol can forge bilateral agreements with foreign countries with low infection rates, the governor quipped.
This way, the governor said, the province can attract tourists from outside the Philippines, but this plan will not materialize unless a sizable number of the Boholano population are inoculated.
Yap asserts, “If the national government will allow and partner with us, we can create special bilateral arrangements founded on common testing, vaccination and consular protocols to open the way for the return of international tourism to Bohol and our country.”