SC asked to compel disclosure of COVID-19 vaccine supply deals
A GROUP of private lawyers led by a former top government legal official asked the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday to compel several state agencies to disclose critical information regarding COVID-19 vaccine procurement, citing constitutional guarantees of transparency and public accountability.
In a petition, former Solicitor General and past Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) President Jose Anselmo I. Cadiz, along with fellow lawyers Randall C. Tabayoyong, Jeffrey B. Constantino, and Nizzane P. Vico, asked the high tribunal to issue a writ of certiorari and mandamus against the departments of Health, Finance, and Budget, and the Commission on Audit.
The petition sought to overturn the government’s continued refusal to release copies of supply agreements for the purchase of COVID-19 vaccines.
The petition also asked the top court to declare the non-disclosure a grave abuse of discretion and to compel the agencies to produce the contracts.
The lawyers argued withholding information about the vaccine procurement violates the constitutional right to information on matters of public concern, under Article III, Section 7 of the 1987 Constitution.
The 50-page petition added that from 2020 to 2022, the Philippine government earmarked P113.5 billion for vaccine procurement, sourced from national budgets and loans from the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
The petitioners said the sheer scale of public funds involved demands transparency and public scrutiny to let Filipinos know how much of the P113.5 billion was spent on vaccine procurement and what the government did with the excess, if any.
“The public has the right to know how their funds were utilized, especially in matters as critical as the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines,” Mr. Cadiz said in a separate statement.
“Our petition seeks to uphold this fundamental right and ensure that government agencies fulfill their ministerial duties under the Constitution,” he added.
Despite filing multiple requests under the agencies’ respective Freedom of Information (FOI) manuals, the petitioners said the documents remain undisclosed.
In particular, the Department of Health failed to respond to any of the inquiries, they noted. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
