Sotto inclined to bring ivermectin debates to Senate

Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday said he is inclined to open the discussions on ivermectin as treatment for COVID-19 in the Senate as he questioned the government’s regulation on the antiparasitic drug.

“Siguro maganda niyan magkaroon tayo ng hearing tungkol diyan later on… pagbalik namin [I think it is better to hold hearings about that once session resumes],” Sotto told reporters in an online interview.

Saying to each his own, Sotto said people should be given the option to use ivermectin.

“Bakit all of a sudden init na init sila dito sa ivermectin? That is a big question… Ang sinasabi ko, yung gustong gumamit, bayaang gumamit,” he said.

(Why are they suddenly making a big issue out of ivermectin? That is a big question. All I'm saying is let people take it if they want to.)

“Kapag ganito ang takbo ng isip nila at ganito ang dating nila [if this is their way of thinking] as far as the issue is concerned, I will be tempted to come up with a privilege speech about it so that a Senate committee hearing can be conducted thereafter,” he added.

Sotto, who had earlier admitted to taking ivermectin

“Napakadami kong kakilala na umiinom niyan. Ako na ang Exhbit A. Wala naman kaming nakikitang adverse effect. As a matter of fact, ang lakas ng katawan namin at you know what my age is,” he said.

(I know a lot of people who have taken ivermectin. I am one of them but I don’t experience any adverse effects. As a matter of fact, my body feels strong and you know what my age is.)

On Wednesday, FDA director general Eric Domingo said there are already six hospitals that were granted with a compassionate special permit (CSP) for the use of ivermectin on COVID-19 patients.

The FDA earlier said the CSP is not a marketing authorization which means ivermectin could not be sold commercially yet.

The World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency still do not recommend ivermectin for COVID-19 cases outside controlled clinical trials, while ivermectin maker Merck said in February that there was “no scientific basis for a potential therapeutic effect” based on preclinical studies.

The Philippines is expected to begin the clinical trials of ivermectin later this month. --KBK, GMA News