NBI to probe unlawful entry, use of Sino vaccine. Inquirer Newsletter. December 31, 2020

No images? Click here   THEY SHOULD NOT BE VIRUS CARRIERS   Presidential guards have been given the unregistered COVID-19 vaccine so that they themselves will not be a threat to the President’s health, says Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, chief of the Presidential Security Group (PSG), shown at left in this file photo taken on Feb. 25 when he assumed command of the unit. Then still a colonel, Durante is presenting to President Duterte a set of miniature figurines representing PSG troops in different uniforms and civilian attire.  —JOAN BONDOC     World Britain approves AstraZeneca jab LONDON—Britain is the first country to approve the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as it grapples with a new variant of the coronavirus that scientists say is more contagious.  AstraZeneca announced the authorization given by the British government was for a two-dose regime and that 100 million doses have been ordered.  The vaccine had also been approved for emergency use. —STORY BY REUTERS Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net/World   News Making kids laugh, learn through theater   National Artist for Theater Amelia Lapeña-Bonifacio, who died on Dec. 29 at the age of 90, revived and revitalized children’s theater in the Philippines through Teatrong Mulat (“Enlightened Theater”). The dramatic troupe she started out of her home in 1977 drew on traditional Asian puppet theater forms, such as the Japanese Bunraku and Indonesian wayang. —STORY BY ERIC S. CARUNCHO Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletters and get your latest news and important updates straight to your device. Subscribe     Get here   Banner story NBI to probe unlawful entry, use of Sino vaccine By the Inquirer Staff Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Wednesday said he had ordered an investigation into the use of a locally unregistered vaccine to inoculate presidential guards for COVID-19 as it may have violated several laws, contrary to administration officials’ claims that it was not unlawful. Guevarra said he had directed the National Bureau of Investigation to look into the use of the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm and how it was brought into 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 his order to NBI Director Eric Distor was a “general instruction” and was not aimed at the inoculation of troops from the Presidential Security Group (PSG), which had been confirmed by administration officials. “[This is] not zeroing in on the PSG or on any particular incident of unauthorized vaccination,” he said. But asked if the Department of Justice (DOJ) will move for the indictment of government officials and other people behind the use of the unauthorized vaccine on President Duterte’s bodyguards, Guevarra said: “If the NBI finds sufficient factual basis to file a complaint, the DOJ will conduct a preliminary investigation and file a case in court if probable cause has been established.” There had been talk in recent weeks of government officials getting vaccinated for COVID-19, but the FDA had been firm that it had not approved any candidate vaccine for the new coronavirus disease. But President Duterte disclosed the PSG vaccinations during a meeting with health experts in Malacañang last Saturday. He identified the vaccine used as the one developed by Sinopharm, but the FDA said it had not registered it. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año confirmed the vaccinations on Monday, saying Cabinet officials were inoculated, too. He did not name the vaccine or its source. On Tuesday, Año revised his statement and said only one Cabinet member had been vaccinated, though he did not name the official. He again did not identify the vaccine, but said it had emergency use authorization from its country of origin. FDA Director General Eric Domingo said on Tuesday that the agency would investigate how the vaccinations happened, while Assistant 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 the PSG should explain the inoculation of its troops with the unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine, as it was a violation of FDA rules. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Rizal Day celebrations at Luneta in Manila, Lorenzana admitted that he had not been informed about the vaccination of the presidential guards. He said he had heard talk of PSG troops getting vaccinated but he did not inquire into it or sought to learn who authorized it. “It’s just now that the facts are coming out that there is no authorized vaccine here yet. So I don’t know how it will be resolved,” he said. “[The PSG] should explain why they did it, because they violated FDA rules,” Lorenzana said. The 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 gave assurance that other military units would abide by FDA rules in getting vaccinated for COVID-19. He also said medical front-liners would get priority when the government got COVID-19 vaccines. Only vaccines approved by the FDA would be used, he added. Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, the PSG commander, confirmed the vaccinations on Monday, but did not name the vaccine and its source. He said the presidential guards took the “risk” because they themselves should not be a threat to the President’s health. ‘We vaccinated ourselves’ In a television interview on Wednesday, Durante said the PSG did not ask for the President’s permission before allowing its troops to be vaccinated. He said getting the shots was the PSG’s own initiative based on its own research. “We’ve done our research. For now, we’ve found the appropriate vaccine for us, which I could say is a traditional vaccine. So we took the risk,” Durante said. He said the troops took the first dose in September and the second in October. Durante did not name the vaccine. Neither did he name its source. He said the presidential guards were vaccinated without help from medical professionals. “We vaccinated ourselves. It’s so easy,” Durante said. “Tell that to the Marines,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said. “They have twisted themselves into knots trying to explain. They are lying through their teeth in a bid to protect those who are principally involved in the illegal shipment of the unauthorized vaccines to the country,” Drilon, a former secretary of justice, said in a statement. He said there was no way the vaccine could have entered the country without clearance from the Bureau of Customs. ‘The truth will come out’ “They cannot hide the truth. The truth will come out and we will find their fingerprints all over it. Those who caused the illegal importation and administration of the unauthorized vaccine must be held responsible. Otherwise the environment of impunity is enhanced,” Drilon said. In a handwritten statement issued from Camp Crame, detained Sen. Leila de Lima slammed presidential spokesperson Harry Roque’s defense that the vaccines were “tokens of small value.” “They are coveted . . . contrabands smuggled into our country . . . Duterte’s acceptance makes him party to [the] unlawful activities,” De Lima, also a former justice secretary, said. Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, a former secretary of health, warned that any COVID-19 vaccine not approved by the FDA is “dangerous.” “Whether these vaccines were donated or purchased, [they] should be approved by [the] FDA. Vaccines and medicines for use, even in clinical trials, also need FDA clearance. Even donations need FDA clearance,” Garin said in a statement. “Vaccines that are not tested and smuggled into the country are dangerous,” she said. —REPORTS FROM MARLON RAMOS, JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE, KRISSY AGUILAR, KATRINA HALLARE, DJ YAP, MELVIN GASCON, JODEE A. AGONCILLO AND NESTOR CORRALES Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net     Editorial Safe noise-making From a volcanic eruption to a succession of supertyphoons and crippling public health and economic crises, 2020 certainly had it all and more, thus the burning desire among many citizens to go all out to just end it with a literal bang using firecrackers. The Department of Health (DOH), however, has again warned against the traditional practice, citing the familiar dangers it poses such as mangled fingers, burns, and even death, especially among children. Indeed, 2020 may be ending, but the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused widespread death and devastation the world over this year rages on. Thus a new word of caution from the DOH this year: Do not use trumpets and whistles and other noisemakers that could transmit the contagious disease via saliva. The DOH instead urged Filipinos raring to leave 2020 behind to consider alternative ways to make noise: pound drums, honk car horns, shake coin banks, play loud music, play a tambourine, bang pots and pans. Read more: opinion.inquirer.net   Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe