Board member opposes Pfizer vaccines for OFW, seafarers

By Felipe V. Celino 

ROXAS CITY, Capiz – A provincial board member in Capiz opposed the plan of the Roxas City government to give the first batch of Pfizer vaccines that recently arrived here to outbound Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s), seafarers, and organ transplant patients.

Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Eleuper “Bulilit” Martinez said he will file a resolution asking the Roxas City government to abandon the plan.

Martinez said giving the Pfizer vaccines to OFWs and seafarers will violate with the rules and regulations set by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the classification and prioritization of the vaccines.

He claimed that the plan smacks of “politicking.”

“I would like to register my objection to Roxas city’s plan offering Pfizer vaccines to OFWs. It is a clear case of politicking at the expense of other class or group,” Martinez said in a message to the media here.

Ronald Amigo, Roxas City assistant department head, denied politics behind the prioritization of OFWs and seafarers in the administration of Pfizer vaccines.

While they respect Martinez’s view, Amigo said the move is also based on the guidelines set by the National COVID-19 Vaccination Operations Center.

In a press conference on Monday, Mayor Ronnie Dadivas said the city government will give 125 doses of Pfizer Vaccine delivered by the Department of Health (DOH) to OFWs, seafarers, and organ transplant patients.

Dadivas said 110 doses will be reserved for OFWs and seafarers bound for USA, Europe, Canada and UAE, while the remaining 15 doses are intended for Organ Transplant patients.

The first to be inoculated are those who have plane tickets, working visas and contracts whose flight are scheduled within four months.

Dadivas assured that there will be no favoritism in the administration of the vaccines.