Drilon wants PSG chief to face Senate hearing on COVID-19 vax rollout

Presidential Security Group commander Brigadier General Jesus Durante III must be summoned to attend the upcoming hearing on the government's plan for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday.

This, after Durante took full responsibility for the inoculation of some PSG members using an unregistered vaccine against the novel disease, which he said has been donated upon their request. He, however, refused to disclose the source of the vaccine.

"In my view, the PSG Commander must be called and must appear in investigation of the Committee of the Whole to shed light on this issue," Drilon said in a message.

The minority leader also supports the order of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the unauthorized COVID-19 vaccinations.

"No one is above the law. The Rule of Law must be the rule, rather than an exception," Drilon said.

He earlier said the executives are "lying through their teeth" to protect those involved in the illegal shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to the country.

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday that some members of the military had been inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine from China's Sinopharm despite the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to approve the use of any vaccine against the novel disease.

This was confirmed by Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana who said members of certain military units had been vaccinated and that the vaccines came from the AFP chain of command.

But AFP spokesperson Major General Edgard Arevalo, though admitting PSG personnel were the first ones who got vaccinated, said it was "not AFP-sanctioned."

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque also said the President did not authorize the vaccination.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the COVID-19 vaccines administered to some PSG members were smuggled.

Aside from NBI, the Food and Drug Administration and Bureau of Customs are also conducting their respective probes on the matter.

FDA director general Eric Domingo, however, said they cannot say yet if sanctions will be imposed on PSG members responsible for the unauthorized vaccination.

Senator Risa Hontiveros also demanded transparency and accountability on the issue.

"Government officials are never above the law. A COVID vaccine sourced from the black market is intolerable. It is illegal, unethical, costly to public health. Even worse, mukhang SANCTIONED & INITIATED ito by high ranking officials," she said on Twitter.

"Siguraduhin ng AFP na may mananagot," she added.

The National Task Force Against COVID-19 (NTF) should provide a transparency report, according to the senator.

A Senate Committee of the Whole hearing is expected to be conducted this coming January to tackle the government's COVID-19 immunization program.—AOL, GMA News