The Philippine government and the private sector have sealed an agreement with Moderna, Inc. for 20 million doses of its coronavirus vaccine, according to the presidential palace, making it the country’s largest vaccine supply deal to date.

The government secured 13 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, while private firms led by International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) Chairman Enrique K. Razon Jr. will get 7 million doses for their workers, vaccine czar Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. said in a statement.

“We would also like to thank Mr Patrick Bergstedt and the whole Moderna Team for keeping up with their commitment in providing 20 million ‘doses of hope’ for 10 million Filipinos,” Mr. Galvez, chief implementer of the country’s pandemic plan, said.

Mr. Galvez said the signing of the tripartite agreement boosts Manila’s goal of having a steady supply of vaccines this year.

“This is part of our goal to vaccinate 70 million of our adult population and recover the economy from the pandemic,” he said.

The government started negotiating with the US-based drugmaker after its two-dose vaccine, which has a 94.5% efficacy rate, was authorized for emergency use in the United States.

Moderna, however, has yet to secure an emergency use authorization from Manila’s drug regulator.

“We are honored to be part of this enormous and noble endeavor to help our people recover from the impact of pandemic and to catalyze a return to growth for our nation,” ICTSI Foundation said on behalf of the so-called Moderna Vaccine Buyer’s Group.

There were no details on which companies are getting the Moderna vaccines.

In a televised press briefing on Friday, Mr. Galvez said the country would take delivery of Moderna vaccines in the second quarter, along with about two million vaccine vials from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

Massive vaccinations will be held from May to June, he added.

Mr. Galvez earlier said Manila would receive at least 1.4 million more doses of Sinovac vaccines this month. Of the total, about 400,000 vials were donated from Beijing, and the rest were paid for by the government.

About 900,000 more doses of the shots developed by British drugmaker AstraZeneca, Plc. and secured under a global initiative for equal vaccine access will also arrive in late March or early April, he said.

The shots developed by America’s Novavax, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, Pfizer Inc, and Russia’s Gamaleya Institute are also included in the government’s coronavirus vaccine portfolio.

The Health department reported a record 7,103 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. This brought the total number of cases in the Philippines to 648,066.

FIRMS NOT ALLOWED TO IMPORT VACCINES DIRECTLY

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said in a Viber message on Friday that private firms are not allowed to import COVID-19 vaccines directly due to existing laws and the request of pharmaceutical companies that make the vaccines.

“[There are] two reasons [why]: first, the pharmas insist on the government providing the indemnity, second, [there is] the COVID 19 Vaccination Program Law,” he said when asked if he supports the proposal of Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) to allow private companies to import vaccines themselves,” he said.

“Moreover the requirement by pharma companies of government indemnity necessitates government involvement in purchases by the private sector.”

Republic Act 11525 signed on Feb. 26 allows DOH and the National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 to directly procure vaccines from manufacturers.

For local government units and other entities who want to buy the vaccines, the DOH and NTF have been tasked to negotiate on their behalf. – with Beatrice M. Laforga

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Department of Finance (DoF) expressed support for a Senate bill that gives the Philippine Development Insurance Corp. (PDIC) the flexibility to adjust the maximum deposit insurance coverage, depending on current economic indicators.

The Senate Committee on Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies on Friday began its hearings on Senate Bills no. 1260 and no. 3464 that seek to introduce amendments to the PDIC Charter.

“The proposed amendments remove the tedious process of passing a law each time the maximum coverage needs to be adjusted. They will also do away with the requirement of a BSP-determined financial crisis to make a routine adjustment in the insurance coverage levels. In other words, the proposed bill will make the PDIC more responsive to the constantly changing financial landscape,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez told the Senate committee.

The PDIC currently provides a maximum deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 per depositor for each bank.

Under SB 3464 authored by Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” M. Angara, the PDIC Board of Directors can increase the maximum deposit insurance coverage to an amount deemed appropriate, considering various economic indicators and inflation. This amount will be reviewed every three years.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno also supported the proposal that would give the PDIC “the flexibility to increase the maximum insurance coverage to an amount indexed to inflation or in consideration of other economic factors.”

However, the BSP chief and banking industry leaders were cool to the provision under SB no. 1260, which sought to raise the maximum deposit insurance coverage to P1 million.

While he admitted the current deposit insurance coverage of P500,000 is “inappropriate” at this time, Mr. Diokno said raising the maximum amount will require an adjustment in premium payments by banks.

Foundation for Economic Freedom’s Romeo L. Bernardo noted there is a need to be “mindful of moral hazard that may accompany overly high insurable maximum amounts.”

“When indexed to inflation…the P500,000 (deposit insurance) should be adjusted to P675,000… Determining the limit should be left to the board of the PDIC to allow for timely adjustments. Maximum limits should reflect the depositor profile and seek to protect the vast majority of depositors, with a focus on small ones,” Bankers Association of the Philippines President Jose Arnulfo A. Veloso said, adding that most deposits in banks are already insured in the Philippines.

If the current deposit insurance is doubled, it is estimated the premiums of the banking industry will increase to two-fifths of one percent of total deposits from the current one-fifth of one percent of total deposits.

The Rural Banks of the Philippines and Chamber of Thrift Banks (CTB) both noted banks might not be able to cope with the potential premium increases, as many continue to struggle amid the pandemic.

“Increasing the premium coverage will create stability for the banking system as this will boost public confidence and trust in the banking sector. However, banks are adversely affected by the pandemic, particularly loan portfolios, hence cannot afford any increase in premium,” said CTB President Paul D. San Pedro said in the hearing.

The Senate bills also proposed the BSP take over the regulatory functions of the PDIC, “such as the issuance of cease-and-desist orders relating to unsound banking practices.” The PDIC, which is currently under the Department of Finance, will also become an attached agency of the BSP.

Mr. Dominguez said this would help prevent “confusing functions and sending confounding signals to the banking industry.”

“Overall, the proposed amendments are reasonable. These will ensure that the PDIC will be fully capable of protecting our people’s hard-earned savings. The bill will also help in revitalizing our economy over the long term,” Mr. Dominguez said.

The counterpart measure, House Bill no. 8818, was approved on second reading by the House of Representatives earlier this week. — G.M.Cortez

The government is looking to allow online registration for the national ID within the second quarter, amid tighter restriction measures as the number of coronavirus infections continue to surge.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) in an online ceremony said they are looking to allow online registration for demographic information.

Currently, this process is done on ground via house-to-house data collection of Filipinos from low-income families. Last year, the government decided to focus on 32 provinces and cities with low active coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases.

The Philippine ID system (PhilSys) was authorized under Republic Act No. 1105 that was signed into law in August 2018.

“As we pursue this long-overdue project, I ask every Filipino to give PhilSys a chance so we may maximize the advantages of a universal and secure database that will make transactions more efficient, and our lives more convenient,” President Rodrigo R. Duterte said in a pre-recorded statement during the event.

Around 10.2 million Filipinos as of December 2020 have finished the first step, where they provide basic information such as name, birthday, and address. This process was continued in January, expanding to other areas including Metro Manila and other provinces.

The PCOO said they expect Filipinos to complete the second step, which includes biometrics, by the fourth quarter.

By end-2022, 90 million are expected to have completed the process, including both Filipinos at home and overseas.

The national ID is expected to help improve the country’s financial inclusion, as central bank data showed only 29% of Filipino adults have a formal bank account as of 2019. In turn, such formal accounts could ease disbursement of government subsidies for low income families.

The lack of documentary requirements for banks’ know-your-customer process has been among the hindrance to Filipinos joining the formal financial system.

The country’s current account swung to a $13 billion surplus last year, the highest since at least 2005.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday showed the current account posted a surplus of $12.979 billion, which is equivalent to 3.6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). This is a turnaround from the $3.047-billion deficit in 2019 which is about 0.8% of the country’s economic output.

BSP data showed this is the highest since at least 2005, which is the year the central bank started adopting the preset format of the current account.

In the fourth quarter alone of 2020, the current account yielded a surplus of $4.2 billion, a reversal from the $342-million deficit in the same period of 2019.

“This was attributed mainly to the narrowing of the deficit in trade in goods accounts. Trade in services recorded higher net receipts, while net receipts of primary and secondary income declined during the quarter,” the central bank said in a statement.

The current account depicts the country’s overall economic interaction with the rest of the world and includes flows related to trade in goods and services; remittances from overseas Filipino workers; profit from Philippine investments abroad; interest payments to foreign creditors; as well as gifts, grants and donations to and from abroad.

The surplus seen last year was mainly due to the trend seen in the country’s external trade, UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion said.

“The current account surplus was largely supported by the slight rebound of exports last year vis-a-vis the persistent double-digit growth decline of imports due to the collapse of local demand and production,” Mr. Asuncion said in a Viber message.

This year, the central bank expects a surplus of $9.1 billion for the current account, which is equivalent to 2.3% of the GDP. 

Mr. Asuncion said developments including better trade prospects amid reopening measures as well as the faster-than-expected recovery in the global economy.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed exports dropped 10.1% to $63.8 billion while imports shrank 23.3% to $85.6 billion in 2020. 

This year, the BSP expects both goods export and import to grow by five percent and eight percent, respectively.