ONLY 700 anti-rabies vials are currently available at the Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) to help cover the remaining months of the year, an official disclosed on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019.

The DVMF should have at least 4,000 anti-rabies vials every month. But as of September this year, only a few remain for the last two months of the year, said Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak.

Due to this, Tumulak is asking Mayor Edgardo Labella to supply the DVMF with 8,000 additional anti-rabies vials worth P4.4 million that would be enough to cover the months of November and December.

In his talk with Labella earlier this week, Tumulak said the mayor told him to charge the amount against the City’s Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) funds which the mayor also approved.

Tumulak, however, found out that the remaining funds under Pagcor is only P1.2 million and each vial is worth P550.

Though Tumulak said the Pagcor funds are not a guarantee to cover the expenses to purchase the vials, the Cebu City Council still referred the resolution to the ad hoc committee on Pagcor funds last Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Now, Tumulak is urging Mayor Labella to look for another possible source of funds where the amount could be charged.

Last Sept. 25, DVMF head Jennifer Laurente wrote a letter to Tumulak, requesting the councilor to augment the anti-rabies vaccines that will be utilized for their intensified vaccination. (JJL)