City Mayor Hermenegildo A. Gualberto and the Local Finance Committee met yesterday, January 6, 2021, to lay actions on the purchase of COVID 19 vaccine for the City of San Fernando.

It was agreed that Php 21 Million culled from the City’s prior years savings be earmarked for the planned purchase of the vaccine. This will be supported by a supplemental appropriation as no funds were allocated for this in the 2021 Local Expenditure Program which was finalized in October 2020 and approved by the City Council in the same year. The Committee was also mandated to identify additional funding source to enable the City to procure more vaccines and thereby give protection from COVID-19 to more residents. The supplemental appropriation will be presented before the City Development Council and Sangguniang Panlungsod for the passage of their respective resolutions that will give fruition to this worthy cause.

The vaccine which will be procured by the City will complement the COVID-19 vaccine rollout of the national government and will be provided to residents for free. Frontliners such as the healthcare workers, uniformed personnel, City employees, teachers, senior citizens, vendors, indigents, and other vulnerable sectors are among the first recipients of the vaccine.

The City Health Office shall take the lead in identifying recipients of the vaccine in the City who are not among those covered by the national government’s roll out plan.

Present during the meeting were LFC members City Planning and Development Officer Brix Caesar D. Cafuir, City Budget Officer Anna Liza A. Esperanza, City Treasurer Edmar C. Luna, and City Accountant Mercy G. Go, and the LFC Secretariat. Also present were City Administrator Gary Glenn B. Fantastico and City Health Officer Dr. Arman S. Carrera.

The City Government remains proactive in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, tapping every help and resource it can get as it continues to push for quick response and recovery from this health crisis.

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