Gordon: Who is behind the vaccine smuggling?

MANILA, Philippines – Who are they protecting?

The commander and troops of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) could be to blame for smuggling into the country and the use of an unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine from China on selected cabinet officials and presidential guards, Senator Richard Gordon suggested Sunday. . .

The chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee said he did not believe PSG commander Brig. General Jesús Durante III, that the vaccine was acquired on his own initiative, adding that Durante’s loyalty to President Duterte, while admirable, must be within the limits of the law.

“No, no, I don’t think so. General During, I don’t believe you. I’m sure he did it out of loyalty, but there are certainly other people who have been inoculated [with the unauthorized vaccine],” he said.

Fall boys

“[They were made to take the fall]. That is my speculation. We should find out who really brought [the vaccine], because that guy should be prosecuted, “Gordon said in a radio interview.

Who brought them? Who received the vaccines? Who did they talk to? If they are really Chinese, then the government should determine who brought those Chinese medicines here and treated our people like guinea pigs, ”Gordon said.

“I think some friends of ours tried to do a good deed, like ‘I got some shots, so use them now …’ But it’s not right … That’s considered contraband. That is considered illegal use of a drug that has not been approved. That is considered reckless and they could have put themselves in danger, ”he said.

Gordon said that Durante’s loyalty was a “good trait” in a PSG boss, but not to the point of breaking the law.

“Because you broke the law, you should consider resigning. But I think, being the gentleman that he is, I don’t even know him and I’m not saying I should quit, I’m saying I should consider it, the blame would be on him, ”Gordon said.

“I would not like to be in his place,” he added.

Anyone who ordered and allowed the entry of unauthorized vaccines from the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm should be held responsible for the smuggling and reckless use of illegal drugs under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Act, according to Gordon.

‘Someone powerful’

He said he did not believe that Durante could have carried out the transaction without the backing of “someone powerful.”

Sinopharm, on the other hand, should be fined “at the very least,” he said. “They could also be blacklisted because there was a deliberate intention [to circumvent the law]. “

Gordon lamented how the illegal acquisition of the Sinopharm vaccine benefited only the privileged and those in power.

“Some are more equal than others. But if some were brought in, they should have been brought in at the same time. I don’t take away the right to get vaccinated, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it,” he said.

Gordon added that those behind the vaccine smuggling cannot hide behind good intentions as an excuse.

“Good faith is not enough to defend against a criminal act. You can’t just say, ‘I didn’t mean that, or my intention was good.’ The law is ‘bad prohibita’, which means that it is not necessary to intend to be prosecuted, as long as you are caught in possession of a contraband item or directly in possession of a controlled item, ”he said.

During revealed in a television interview last week that the presidential bodyguards received their first dose in September and the second in October, and that they were vaccinated without the help of medical professionals.

Without identifying the person who provided the vaccine, the PSG commander stated that it was his own decision to make the request and that he did not ask Mr. Duterte for permission to vaccinate the presidential guards.

The president mentioned PSG vaccines during a televised meeting with health experts in Malacañang on December 26. He identified the vaccine used as the one developed by Sinopharm.

But according to the FDA, the vaccine has not been registered for local use and distribution.

The FDA, Customs Office, and the National Bureau of Investigation are investigating the illegal entry and use of the Sinopharm vaccine into the country.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said last week that Durante would be summoned to an investigation by the full Senate committee to explain obtaining the vaccine and auto-inoculating the presidential guards with the unapproved drug.

PSG defended

On Sunday, top presidential legal advisor Salvador Panelo defended PSG, saying the presidential guards should be congratulated for risking themselves to protect the president.

“They risked their lives to protect the president from being infected with the virus … PSG’s action, in addition to being legally valid, is consistent with, and in accordance with, its duty to ensure the president’s life at all costs,” He said in a statement.

Panelo noted that the efficacy of the vaccine used by PSG was not 100 percent and that the drug did not have FDA approval. But by being on the front lines, he said, the presidential guards took a risk to accomplish their mission.

“Consciously endangering one’s life is not a crime. Instead of being criticized, these sentinels of the president should be congratulated for risking their lives to protect the president, ”Panelo said.

Countering claims that the vaccine is not registered with the FDA, he said that such statements presupposed commercial transactions for which the presidential guards could not be held responsible because they only used the vaccine.

He also said that the actions of the presidential guards have not caused any harm or injury to the public or anyone.

Double standard

But what message do the Filipino people get when high-ranking government officials allow the smuggling and use of an unauthorized vaccine on selected officials and soldiers? Vice President Leni Robredo asked.

Speaking on his Sunday radio show, Robredo said he shared the public’s sentiment that not only everything violated the law, but that it also displayed double standards in government.

“The rule is that whether it is donated or bought, there are government agencies that need to approve it before it can enter the country,” he said. “We agree that priority should be given to the uniformed personnel surrounding the president, but why was protocol not followed, why were laws violated?”

The vice president noted that other countries were already rolling out COVID-19 vaccines to their citizens, but the Philippines doesn’t even have vaccines.

“[And yet] Some [special people] has already been inoculated [without] following the regulations, ”he said.

The controversy, he said, has sent the message to people that vaccine smuggling is “fine, as long as you have the means and the outside connections.”

–With reporting from Jerome Aning and Krixia Subingsubing

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