Philippines' Duterte wants government-to-government deal for COVID-19 vaccines

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Tuesday he would favour a government-to-government deal for the purchase of coronavirus vaccines to prevent the risk of corruption.

"Let me tell everybody that we will not beg, we will pay," Duterte said in a weekly televised address. "To the Chinese government, you need not look for partners, we can make it government-to-government."

The Philippines has the second-highest number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Southeast Asia behind Indonesia.