Malacañang emphasized on Monday that the inoculation of some members of the military using Sinopharm vaccine is not illegal, following the confirmation of President Duterte on the matter over the weekend.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said that Sinopharm vaccine is not yet registered in the country but Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque explained that what is prohibited is the sale and distribution of unregistered vaccines.
“Huwag niyo namang ipagkait sa ating mga sundalo kung nagkaroon sila ng proteksyon. Tanggapin na lang natin na importante na iyong ating kasundaluhan, mga nagbabantay sa ating seguridad ay ligtas na sa COVID (Let us not deny our soldiers the protection they need. Let us just accept that it is important for our soldiers to be protected from COVID),” Roque appealed.
Roque said he does not think that the vaccination was authorized by President Duterte and that “it must have been a decision of the commanders and the soldiers.”
As for the acquisition of the Sinopharm vaccine, Roque surmised that “it must have been donated” because it was not paid.
Meanwhile, Roque stressed that the condition of President Duterte to cancel the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States if there are no vaccines for the Philippines is not blackmail but “iyan ang ibig sabihin ng independent foreign policy (that is what independent foreign policy means”. – Report from Naomi Tiburcio
