Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque denied that the government is buying the Chinese-made vaccine Sinovac at PHP3,600 per dose.

Roque said that the Sinovac vaccines being purchased by the government is at par with that of Indonesia which is around PHP650 per dose.

Malacanang, however, invoked that they cannot reveal the exact price of the vaccine because it is part of the confidentiality agreement.

“What I can assure you is the claim that China is charging PHP3,600 per dose is fake news. While I cannot announce the price of Sinovac (vaccines), it’s not far from the price given to Indonesia, which is about P650 per dose,” Roque said in a radio interview.

The country has so far secured 25 million doses of Sinovac with its first 50,000 doses to arrive in February.

Roque added that he cannot announce the price because the vaccines are priced differently.

“China is not like capitalist companies that are market dictated. China can change the prices… it depends on who will buy. That’s the reason why China does not want it announced because others who are not their BFF and who are paying higher prices may get angry,” the Palace spokesperson said.

The Palace also dismissed calls to cancel the deal with Sinovac.

“What the President said was they can say what they want to say. In the end, it is the President that is ultimately responsible to the people. Fake news will come out, in the end, it will be implemented by the President because it is good for the people,” Roque said.

The government is currently dealing with seven vaccine manufacturers.