It looks like other people, not just President Duterte’s guards, have been secretly given the COVID-19 vaccine that has yet to be approved by the local Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to prominent Chinese-Filipino civic leader Teresita Ang See, some 100,000 Chinese nationals in the country got the same vaccine as early as November last year.
Speaking at the “Tapatan sa Aristocrat” forum held online on Monday, Ang See said the Chinese nationals, most of whom are working in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) sector, were inoculated with vaccines approved by FDA’s Singaporean, Japanese and Korean counterparts.
“The vaccines given them were legitimate, (from) legitimate sources. (They) came from official channels so I think it’s good,” Ang See said. “This should not have been blown out of proportion if this were not kept secret, because we… all understand why it is needed. Why make it a secret this way especially if (it came from an) official channel?” she said. The writer and activist, however, did not expound on what official channel she was referring to.
Should this be a cause for concern?
Ang See said that for her, it’s okay that the Chinese nationals were vaccinated, “because we do not have much control (over) them. We do not have… basis to catch… them, especially the POGO workers.”
She added that most of those who were administered the vaccine showed no adverse reactions. “I am glad they are being vaccinated because it protects us also if they are protected.”
Ang See also implied that the government was aware of this. To her knowledge, there had been raids conducted from April to June to catch these under-the-radar clinics, which she said operated in Makati and Bonifacio Global City, but the raids turned up nothing.
One less problem
Sought for comment on the issue, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told the Inquirer, “If that (were) true, then that’s good. One hundred thousand less possible carriers of the COVID-19 virus.”
While acknowledging its necessity, Ang See also aired her concern on the matter. “(My) worry is, where is our policy? One, they are breaking our laws. Second, what if something goes wrong? Who are the people administering it? Are they keeping the old (supply) chain? How about the storage? What if there is something wrong with the storage handling and administration?” she asked.
A larger problem looms beyond these covert vaccinations, she added. “It’s good that [Chinese nationals] are protected because we are very slow. I know it is against the law, but they are justifying smuggling.”
Instead of focusing on punishing these people who are “doing what they can despite the inefficiency of others,” Ang See suggested that a lot of things have to be changed, among them the current roster of officials leading the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
“[The] IATF should not be composed mostly [of] generals. Where is the [Chinese-Filipino] community there? Why don’t they mobilize these people who are more efficient than they?”
Earlier this week, the commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) Brigadier General Jesus Durante admitted that several soldiers injected themselves with a Chinese vaccine as early as September as a way to protect the President from the virus. The move was criticized widely not only for the use of an unauthorized vaccine but also for its dubious procurement, which Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana later confirmed to be smuggled.
As of Jan. 4, the country has over 21,000 active cases, adding up to a total of 470,000 COVID-19 infections since the virus spread early last year.