AFTER initially denying the statement of President Rodrigo Duterte that military personnel have been inoculated against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Monday, December 28, 2020, said members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) have been vaccinated.
AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo, however, said he was not privy to how the vaccines administered to the PSG were obtained. As of Monday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not issued any Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the use of any Covid-19 vaccine in the Philippines.
“Per our inquiry, members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) were the first ones from the AFP who were vaccinated owing to the nature of their mission and function,” Arevalo said in a social media post Monday.
“As the unit primarily tasked to protect and secure the highest official of the land, the PSG will have to ensure that the President is safe from all threats—including Covid-19,” he added.
He issued this statement less than an hour after saying he was “not aware of Covid-19 inoculation made to military personnel” and of any vaccination program sanctioned by the AFP leadership.
Arevalo was reacting to the Philippine Army's confirmation of the President’s statement that some uniformed men have received the vaccine from Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm. Duterte mentioned this during a meeting with some Cabinet members and infectious disease specialists on Saturday, December 26.
“I have to be frank and I have to tell the truth. I will not foist a lie. Marami nang nagpatusok and lahat. Up to now, wala akong narinig sa — for the select few — not all soldiers, not all soldiers, hindi pa kasi policy eh,” Duterte said.
“If it’s a policy now to have them injected with... Pero gusto ko mauna sila because I do not want a sickly Armed Forces and a sickly police. The reason why is that they have to be in good health all the time because they are responsible for the law and order of this country,” he added.
In his first statement denying the vaccination, Arevalo said the military is thankful that soldiers are among the frontliners given high priority in the vaccination program.
In his second statement, Arevalo said the PSG took a "bold step" in having themselves inoculated with a vaccine.
“But we have taken cognizance of the fact that the members of the PSG under BGen Jesus Durante has taken a bold step to try the vaccine to protect the President,” he said.
Arevalo said the safety of the President equates to national well-being and security posture necessarily includes protecting him from the virus.
Duterte has authorized the FDA to issue an EUA for the use of a Covid-19 vaccine in the country for the duration of the public health emergency. An EUA would allow the use of a vaccine or drug that is still under development.
So far, only Pfizer/BioNTech has applied for an EUA in the country. But the FDA has not issued such a permit as of Monday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque earlier said it would take the FDA at least 21 days to evaluate and approve Pfizer’s application. Domingo, in a separate interview, said an EUA might be issued to Pfizer in January 2021.
It was not clear whether Duterte himself has received the vaccine, but the President on Saturday asked FDA Director General Enrique Domingo whether he could be inoculated again once the Pfizer vaccine becomes available in the country.
Responding to Duterte's claim that many Filipinos have received the Sinopharm vaccine, Domingo said they have not caught anybody.
"Wala nga po kaming mahuli. Naka-tatlong raid na po kami sa Makati at saka sa Binondo pero wala naman po kaming nahuli pa (We have not caught anybody. We have conducted raids in Makati and Binondo three times, but we have not caught anybody)," he said. (Marites Villamor-Ilano / SunStar Philippines)