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Gordon: Who’s behind vaccine smuggling? Inquirer Newsletter. January 4, 2020

FIERY END Flames engulfed this bus on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, after a passenger doused the conductor with gasoline and set her on fire during an altercation, killing them both, while the driver and the rest of the passengers managed to escape. RICHARD A. REYES

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As the country welcomes 2021, which happens to be the 500th anniversary of the Christianization of the Philippines, a Catholic bishop on Saturday urged Filipinos to “renew once again the understanding of our faith” that he said was the first step toward sharing the Good News. —STORY BY Meg Adonis and Mariejo S. Ramos

Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net

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COVID-19 breaks out at PMA

BAGUIO CITY—The coronavirus disease has cut through the defenses of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) despite enforcing a hard lockdown since February to protect its cadets from the pandemic. —STORY BY Vincent Cabreza

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Gordon: Who’s behind vaccine smuggling?

By DJ Yap

Who are they protecting? The commander and troops of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) could just be the fall guys in the smuggling into the country and use of an unauthorized COVID-19 vaccine from China on selected Cabinet officials and presidential guards, Sen. Richard Gordon suggested on Sunday.

The chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee said he did not believe the claim of the PSG commander, Brig. Gen. Jesus Durante III, that the vaccine was procured on his own initiative, adding that Durante’s loyalty to President Duterte, while admirable, should be within the bounds of law.

“No, no, I don’t believe that. General Durante, I don’t believe you. I’m sure you did that out of loyalty, but certainly there are other people who had themselves inoculated [with the unauthorized vaccine],” he said.

Fall guys

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

“Who brought them in? Who were given the vaccines? Who did they talk to? If they’re 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 obtained some vaccines, so use them already …’ But it’s not right … That is considered smuggling. That is considered illegal use of a medicine that has not been approved. That is considered reckless, and they could have endangered themselves,” he said.

Gordon said Durante’s loyalty was a “good trait to have” in a PSG chief, but not to the extent of violating the law.

“Because he violated the law, he should consider resignation. But I think, being the gentleman that he is—I don’t even know him and I’m not saying he should resign, I’m saying he should consider it—the blame would be pinned on him,” Gordon said.

“I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes,” he added —WITH REPORTS FROM JEROME ANING AND KRIXIA SUBINGSUBING INQ

Editorial

Better year ahead?

Everyone’s resigned to the fact that 2020 was an extraordinarily bad year for the economy. The latest forecast of the World Bank said that the Philippine economy contracted by 8.1 percent last year due not only to the COVID-19 pandemic but also to the multiple shocks that hit the country—.

Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net