NBI will investigate illegal entry and use of Sinopharm vaccine

MANILA, Philippines – Attorney General Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday that he had ordered an investigation into the use of a non-locally registered vaccine to inoculate presidential guards against COVID-19, as it could have violated various laws, contrary to the assertions of administration officials that it was not. illegal.

Guevarra said he had directed the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the use of the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm and how it was introduced in the Philippines.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said that it has not approved any candidate vaccine for COVID-19 and that the use of any unregistered vaccine is illegal.

Guevarra said that his order to the NBI director, Eric Distor, was a “general instruction” and did not aim at inoculating troops from the Presidential Security Group (PSG), which had been confirmed by administration officials.

“[This is] without focusing on PSG or any particular incident of unauthorized vaccination, ”he said.

But when asked if the Department of Justice (DOJ) will request the indictment of government officials and others behind the unauthorized use of the vaccine on President Duterte’s bodyguards, Guevarra said: a complaint, the DOJ will conduct a preliminary investigation and present a case in court if probable cause has been established. “

In recent weeks there has been talk of government officials getting vaccinated against COVID-19, but the FDA had been adamant that it had not approved any candidate vaccine for the new coronavirus disease.

But President Duterte unveiled PSG vaccines during a meeting with health experts in Malacañang last Saturday. It identified the vaccine used as the one developed by Sinopharm, but the FDA said it had not registered it. (See related story in World, page B3.)

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año confirmed the vaccinations Monday, saying cabinet officials were also vaccinated. He did not mention the vaccine or its source.

On Tuesday, Year reviewed his statement and said that only one cabinet member had been vaccinated, although he did not name the official. Again, it did not identify the vaccine, but said it had an emergency use authorization from its home country.

FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Tuesday the agency would investigate how the vaccines happened, while Deputy Customs Commissioner Vincent Philip Maronilla said an investigation would be launched to determine how supplies of the vaccine were brought into the country. .

PSG must explain

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said PSG should explain inoculating its troops with the unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine, as it was a violation of FDA rules.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Rizal in Luneta Day celebrations in Manila, Lorenzana admitted that she had not been informed about the vaccination of the presidential guards.

He said that he had heard of the vaccination of PSG troops, but did not ask or want to know who authorized it.

“It is just now that the facts are coming to light that there is still no licensed vaccine here. So I don’t know how it will be resolved, ”he said.

“[The PSG] It should explain why they did it, because they violated the FDA rules, ”Lorenzana said.

PSG is overseen by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but its operations and activities fall within the purview of the Office of the President.

Lorenzana assured that other military units would comply with the FDA rules to vaccinate against COVID-19.

He also said front-line doctors would receive priority when the government received COVID-19 vaccines. Only FDA-approved vaccines would be used, he added.

Brig. General Jesús During III, commander of the PSG, confirmed the vaccines on Monday, but did not mention the vaccine or its origin. He said the presidential guards took the “risk” because they themselves shouldn’t be a threat to the president’s health.

‘We vaccinate ourselves’

In a television interview on Wednesday, Durante said that PSG did not ask the president for permission before allowing its troops to be vaccinated.

He said getting the injections was PSG’s own initiative based on his own research.

“We have done our research. For now, we have found the right vaccine for us, which you could say is a traditional vaccine. So we took a chance, ”said Durante.

He said the troops took the first dose in September and the second in October.

During did not name the vaccine. Nor did he mention its source. He said the presidential guards were vaccinated without the help of medical professionals.

“We vaccinate ourselves. It’s so easy, ”said Durante.

“Tell the Marines,” said Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

“They have been twisted into knots trying to explain. They are lying in an attempt to protect those who are primarily involved in the illegal shipment of unauthorized vaccines into the country, ”said Drilon, a former attorney general, in a statement.

He said there was no way the vaccine would have entered the country without clearance from the Customs Office.

‘The truth will come out’

“They cannot hide the truth. The truth will come out and we will find his fingerprints everywhere. Those who caused the illegal importation and administration of the unauthorized vaccine should be held responsible. Otherwise, the environment of impunity is improved, “said Drilon.

In a handwritten statement issued from Camp Crame, detained senator Leila de Lima criticized presidential spokesman Harry Roque’s defense that the vaccines were “tokens of little value.”

“They are coveted. . . contraband contraband to our country. . . Duterte’s acceptance makes him a participant in [the] illegal activities, ”said De Lima, also a former Secretary of Justice.

Iloilo’s representative, Janette Garin, a former health secretary, warned that any COVID-19 vaccine not approved by the FDA is “dangerous.”

“If these vaccines were donated or purchased, [they] must be approved by [the] FDA. Vaccines and drugs for use, even in clinical trials, also need FDA approval. Even donations need FDA approval, ”Garin said in a statement.

“Vaccines that are not tested and are smuggled into the country are dangerous,” he said.

—Reports by Marlon Ramos, Jeannette I. Andrade, Krissy Aguillar, Katrina Hallare, DJ Yap, Melvin Gascon, Jodee A. Agoncillo, and Nestor Corrales

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