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MANILA, Philippines – The National Bureau of Investigation will soon “contact” the director of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) to find out who provided the China-made Covid-19 vaccine that was administered to the presidential guards and how it entered the country while It was not yet cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for local use.
NBI spokesman Ferdinand Lavin said the agency “would greatly appreciate” if PSG commander Brig. General Jesús During III would put in writing and declare under oath his previous admission that he had requested the use of the vaccine for his men and that they voluntarily submitted to the inoculation to avoid becoming a threat to the health of President Rodrigo Duterte.
During revealed in a television interview last week that the presidential guards received their first dose in September and the second in October, and that they were vaccinated without the help of medical professionals. He did not say who provided the vaccines and how they were introduced into the country.
‘Symbolic’
The PSG commander also said that it was his own decision to make the request and that he did not ask Duterte for permission to vaccinate the presidential guards.
It was the president who unveiled the 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.
According to the FDA, the vaccine has not been registered for local use and distribution.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque later said that the Sinopharm vaccines received by PSG were donated, a “token” that was of little value, but he did not know who the donor was and what the circumstances were behind the donation.
Sworn declaration
In a radio interview on Saturday, Lavin said “maybe [Durante] they can present an affidavit that narrates the circumstances surrounding the incident, how it happened, where they received the vaccine, who was vaccinated and who administered the vaccine. “
“We should examine every detail because that statement [he made in the media] is a sweeping statement, admitting that [the vaccination of the PSG members] It was true and they just did it on their own, ”Lavin added. “We will contact During … If you cooperate [and] give a statement, then we’ll take off from there. “
Lavin said the NBI was waiting for a formal directive from Attorney General Menardo Guevarra, who warned that using the unregistered vaccine to inoculate presidential guards could have violated several laws.
The office would also interview presidential guards who had been inoculated and others, including private individuals, who may have facilitated the illegal entry of the Sinopharm vaccine into the country, he added. “We will invite them (PSG members) if they are properly identified.”
Not be singled out
“We will ask them where they got the vaccine and who gave them the vaccine. Hopefully they will identify those who administered the vaccine who are responsible under the Medical Practice Act, ”he said.
As Guevarra had pointed out, Lavin said that the NBI would not point to PSG in the investigation, but would also look at reports that some politicians, businessmen and their families had also been vaccinated against the coronavirus, which had infected nearly 500,000 Filipinos.
The NBI, he added, will also seek the cooperation of the FDA and Customs, which is also conducting an investigation into how Sinopharm vaccines passed border controls.
“There may already have been cases where vaccination was carried out [before the PSG members were inoculated]Lavin said. “We will check all these reports.”
Lavin said that the NBI will also seek guidance and assistance from the foreign affairs and justice departments should it become necessary to invoke the country’s Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with China in the course of the investigation.
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For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.
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