By MARTIN A. SADONGDONG
The unregistered COVID-19 vaccines administered to select members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) were “smuggled” into the country, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana revealed Wednesday, contradicting the claims of top government officials that they were donated.
“Yes, it’s smuggled. These [vaccines] are not authorized [to enter the country.] Only the government can authorize that through the FDA [Food and Drug Administration],” said Lorenzana during the sidelines of the celebration of the 124th martyrdom anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal Park in Manila.
Lorenzana further admitted that he already knew about the vaccination of the soldiers long before the issue was made publicly by no less than President Duterte, but he noted that he was unaware who gave the green light to perform the vaccination.
“Basta ang alam namin noon, may rumors na kumakalat na nagbabakuna na ang mga PSG. Whether who authorized it, hindi naman kami nagtanong. Ngayon pa lang lumalabas ‘yung mga facts na ‘yan,” Lorenzana said.
“I don’t know how it will be resolved. Kailangan ipaliwanag ‘yan sa FDA,” he added.
Lorenzana’s revelations contradicted the earlier claims of PSG chief, Brigadier General Jesus Durante III, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque that the vaccines — reportedly China’s Sinopharm — were “tokens” and “donations.”
The vaccination of some PSG soldiers caused public uproar as the government was criticized for supposedly circumventing the FDA rules and prioritizing government officials over the health workers and poor Filipinos in its vaccination program.
LESS THAN 300 SOLDIERS
But Lorenzana said that the health workers “should not feel bad” if they feel that they are left alone since only “less than three hundred” soldiers were given the vaccines, which means that the supply is “not enough” for all the medical frontliners.
“Iyon kasing ini-import natin, maramihan ano. Ito naman kasing dumating, ilang tao lang sa PSG, walang tatlong daan ‘yan,” he stated.
“Kung sila ay nagtatampo, hindi naman siguro sapat ‘yung 500 o 1,000 para mabigyan lahat ng frontliners,” he added.
Lorenzana said the national government, through vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., is doing its best to acquire 50 million COVID-19 vaccines so all medical frontliners, poor Filipinos, and other priorities in the vaccination program will be inoculated.
Earlier, PSG chief Durante said some of his personnel, who are close-in security escorts of Duterte, received two doses of the vaccine as early as September “without the President’s knowledge.”
He said the soldiers administered the vaccines to themselves with the help of their medical team. He also refused to disclose where the vaccines came from, as the Bureau of Customs (BoC) reported that the entry of the vaccines in the country was not communicated to them.
Aside from select soldiers, other government officials also reportedly received shots of the vaccine.
