QC terminates eZConsult deal with Zuellig due to website crashes, glitches
The Quezon City government announced on Tuesday, June 29, it is terminating its contract with Zuellig Pharma Corporation, the firm behind the eZConsult vaccination booking website, following multiple reports of technical glitches experienced by QC citizens booking their COVID-19 vaccination slot.
"We have already given Zuellig ample time to improve their system upon their request and yet their system has crashed again for the 9th time. We don't want to cause undue stress to our constituents who only want to register for vaccination," Mayor Joy Belmonte said in a statement.
The city government said they recently issued an ultimatum to the firm for them to improve their system quickly and provide all deliverables. However, the “last straw came” after citizens reported dissatisfaction with the website as they had to endure a queuing system to book a slot with some having to wait for hours.
Belmonte shared that Zuellig previously reported an upgrade in the system which could supposedly accommodate up to 50,000 users at a time. However, the system crashed anew after they tried opening new slots.
"Imbes na mapadali, napabagal pa ang ating registration process. Ang nakakalungkot, taumbayan ang nagdusa, at nawalang saysay ang pagsisikap ng ating mga medical frontliners at volunteers na ilang buwan nang nagsasakripisyo para mapabilis ang ating vaccination process," the QC mayor explained.
City Attorney Orlando Casimiro said Zuellig breached their contractual obligations to the city after failing to deliver on their commitment to improve their service as previously agreed. The Information Technology portion of the Service Agreement with the city government will be terminated and damages will be claimed against Zuellig.
Under Section 9 of the said agreement, Zuellig is liable to pay liquidated damages amounting to one-tenth of one percent of the contract price for every day of delay until the project is completed.
Since March 2021, the city government and its citizens have reported several technical difficulties within the eZConsult website which caused delays in the vaccination program.
Belmonte said that they will be filing “appropriate” civil and criminal charges against the company for failure to meet its contractual obligation to the local government.
"We are doing this for the interest of our QCitizens and to protect their rights," she added.
In the meantime, the mayor called on residents who are having a hard time on the eZConsult website to instead register on the QC Vax Easy portal, which was a “city-government assisted online registration system” launched on June 25.
The city government emphasized that all ongoing bookings on eZConsult are still valid. Those who were able to book a slot for July 1,2,3,5 and 6 are advised to proceed to the vaccination site of their choice as scheduled. Meanwhile, those scheduled for their second dose should also follow the date indicated in their card, and take the jab at the same site where they had their first dose.
As of June 29, there are 101,961 confirmed total COVID-19 cases in Quezon City, 1,408 of which are active cases; 99,370 citizens have recovered, while 1,183 deaths were recorded.
A total of 733,008 vaccines have been administered, according to QC’s vaccination tracker as of June 24; 175,876 of those are second-dose inoculations.
Banner photo from QC government’s Facebook page