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MANILA, Philippines – The commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) will have to explain to the Senate his admission that his men were vaccinated with a COVID-19 drug from China that is not yet registered in the Philippines and is believed to have been brought in. in the country illegally, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday.
In a statement, Drilon told Brig. General Jesus During III should shed light on the controversy when the Senate sat down as a full committee to investigate the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program.
‘We vaccinate ourselves’
“The most important ‘who’ and ‘how’ in history remains a mystery. The PSG commander is deliberately hiding the basic questions of who and how from the public, ”Drilon said.
During confirmed on Monday that the presidential guards had been vaccinated against COVID-19 and that they had voluntarily undergone vaccination to avoid becoming a threat to the health of President Duterte. He did not say who provided the vaccine and how it was brought into the country.
On Wednesday, Durante said the presidential guards received the first dose in September and the second in October, both times without the help of medical professionals.
“We vaccinate ourselves. It was easy, ”said Durante in a television interview. Again, it did not say who gave PSG the vaccine and how it entered the country.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it will investigate PSG vaccines, as the use of any vaccine not registered in the Philippines is illegal. The Customs Office has also said it will investigate to determine how the vaccine passed to inspectors at the border.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said on Wednesday that he had ordered the National Investigations Office to investigate the use of the vaccine by presidential guards and how they obtained it. If probable cause for prosecution is established, he said, charges will be brought against the individuals involved.
“Someone definitely did something wrong,” FDA Director General Eric Domingo said in a television interview Thursday. “[Under] FDA law, [it is] illegal to import, distribute, manufacture, use unregistered drugs. “
But when asked if the FDA would press charges against PSG, Domingo did not say yes or no and only said that the FDA’s regulatory compliance unit would investigate. “Our law enforcement unit is going to work with the NBI and Customs so that we can find and track where the flaws were and where the violation is in our regulatory process,” said Domingo.
President Duterte, in a televised address to the nation Monday night, revealed vaccines against PSG using the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. He did not say how PSG was vaccinated.
Donation
The Secretary of Health, Francisco Duque III, said he had no knowledge of the matter.
Domingo said he was “surprised” that the FDA had not yet approved any of the vaccine candidates for COVID-19.
On Tuesday, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said it was not illegal to be inoculated with an unregistered vaccine. What is prohibited by law, he said, is the commercial distribution of the unregistered drug. He said that the doses of vaccine given to PSG were donations, but he did not know who the donor was and what the circumstances were behind the donation.
On Wednesday, Durante said he was taking “full responsibility” for PSG vaccinations, but Drilon, in his statement Thursday, said he was not buying the “alibis” from the head of the presidential guard.
“All that (in Malacañang) they give the public are alibis, excuses and lies. There are more things that will be revealed to the committee once Brigadier General During appears at our hearing, ”said Drilon.
He said that Durante was not answering vital questions: “Who else was involved? How did unregistered COVID-19 vaccines enter the country? Who imported it from China? “
Drilon said he supported Guevarra’s decision for the NBI to investigate the matter.
‘Laws have been violated’
“It appears that laws have been violated. No one is above the law. The rule of law should be the rule and not the exception, ”he said.
Drilon cited the FDA law, which prohibits the importation and commercial distribution of unregistered drugs. Those involved in the PSG vaccines, he said, face a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 pesos or a prison sentence of one to 10 years, or both.
The importer of the Sinopharm vaccine, he said, faces five to 10 years in prison and a fine of P500,000 to P5 million.
“The FDA’s claim that it has not granted any COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization is sufficient basis for prosecuting those involved in this illegal inoculation. [The] the authorities should investigate it and prosecute those involved, ”Drilon said.
—With a report from Patricia Denise M. Chiu
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