Lawyers ask SC to compel gov’t disclosures on vax procurement
- How did the government spend P113 billion for Covid-19 vaccines? Four lawyers have asked the Supreme Court to compel agencies to disclose the supply agreements on the vaccine procurements.
- They also urged the high tribunal to issue a writ of certiorari and declare the respondents’ refusal or inaction in providing access to the supply agreements void ab initio, or from the start.
- They specifically requested data on the brands and quantities of vaccines procured, prices, after-sales documentation, and liquidation reports for funds sourced from the 2021 and 2022 General Appropriations Acts, loans under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Acts 1 and 2, and the Philippine COVID-19 Emergency Response Project.
Four lawyers led by former Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz filed a petition before the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking judicial intervention to compel several government agencies to disclose information on the government’s COVID-19 vaccine procurement.
In a 42-page petition for certiorari and mandamus with a prayer for the conduct of oral arguments, Cadiz, along with lawyers Randall Tabayoyong, Jeffrey Constantino and Nizzane Vico, asked the high court to order the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Finance (DOF), and Department of Budget and Management (DBM), as well as the Commission on Audit (COA), to grant them access to copies of all supply agreements entered into by the government for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
They also urged the high tribunal to issue a writ of certiorari and declare the respondents’ refusal or inaction in providing access to the supply agreements void ab initio, or from the start.
Considering the “gargantuan amount” of about P113.5 billion in taxpayer money and multilateral loans from 2020 to 2022 allocated for vaccine procurement, the petitioners argued that the public had the right to know how much was spent per brand and at what price.
“The information is crucial to allow the public to also know if the Php113,485,357,464.59 was fully spent or if there was any excess. Moreover, if there was any excess amount, it is also in the interest of the Filipino to know what did the Philippine Government do with such excess amount,” the petitioners noted.
Paper trail
Named as respondents were the DOH through Health Secretary Ted Herbosa and/or former Health Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire; the DOF through Finance Secretary Ralph Recto; the DBM through Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and the COA through Chair Gamaliel Cordoba.
In their petition, the lawyers detailed the timeline of events, from the start of the pandemic in 2020 through the government’s actions, up until the petitioners sent a formal request for public disclosure of the supply agreements on June 5, 2024, but received unfavorable responses.
They specifically requested data on the brands and quantities of vaccines procured, prices, after-sales documentation, and liquidation reports for funds sourced from the 2021 and 2022 General Appropriations Acts, loans under the Bayanihan to Heal as One Acts 1 and 2, and the Philippine COVID-19 Emergency Response Project.
According to the petitioners, the DOH allegedly did not respond to their request.
They added that the DBM denied the request, saying it must comply with the freedom of information (FOI) procedure.
The DBM also noted that Item 9(d) of the Inventory of Exceptions to Executive Order No. 2, s. 2016, exempts “lists, abstracts or summaries of information that are not part of the duties of the government office requested.”
The COA also denied the request, saying the documents were prepared and remain in the custody of the DOH.
The DOF, for its part, directed the petitioners to seek details from implementing agencies, such as the DOH and the Food and Drug Administration.
Lack of access
In September 2024, the petitioners filed FOI request forms with the respective agencies but still did not receive the information.
Seeking relief from the high court, the lawyers asserted their right to access information on matters of public concern, as guaranteed under Section 7, Article III of the 1987 Constitution.
They invoked their standing as taxpayers to ensure that the government’s allotment of P113.5 billion from 2020 to 2022 for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines was “lawfully and judicially used.”
“The lack of public disclosure from the Philippine government on these vital [pieces of] information risk the improper use of taxpayer money and this directly affects all taxpayers, including petitioners, who all contribute to the public coffers through their taxes,” they pointed out.
The petitioners also accused the respondents of grave abuse of discretion, citing the DOF, DBM and COA’s denial of their requests, claiming that the information must be sought from the DOH, and the DOH’s inaction.
