Probe update: Smuggled vaccines did not go through customs

MANILA, Philippines — Unregistered COVID-19 vaccines might have been smuggled into the country in “convenient packages,” Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Thursday.

Citing the initial report of the National Bureau of Investigation, Guevarra said “no findings that the early COVID-19 vaccines went through the customs area.”

“They might have been brought in in convenient packages,” he said.

What is a convenient package? The justice chief said “in a luggage, carry-on bag, etc. Maybe through a private flight too. But the NBI has not specified these.”

The NBI is investigating the illegal importation of and use of unregistered COVID-19 vaccines in the country.

Months before the start of the government’s inoculation program, members of the Presidential Security Group received smuggled vaccines developed by Sinopharm. The China-made vaccine has no authorization for emergency use in the country.

Last month, columnist Mon Tulfo also admitted that he and other government officials were inoculated with illegally-obtained jabs.

Guevarra earlier said the NBI probe will not only focus on the vaccination of PSG troops.

The Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009 prohibits the sale and distribution of vaccines not yet approved by regulatory authorities. The FDA and the Department of Health have been saying that the use of unregistered products poses harm to a person’s health and safety.

The FDA is also conducting a separate probe into the smuggling of COVID-19 vaccines for use by the president’s security detail. It, however, said its investigation has hit a “blank wall” as the PSG is not cooperating. 

As the country begins to vaccinate the priority populations, a number of non-healthcare workers, including government officials, have jumped the vaccination line. The DOH warned this may jeopardize the government's allocation in the COVAX Facility, which provides nations, such as the Philippines, millions of free jabs. 

Guevarra said there may be possible administrative liability for government officials who skipped the queue.

— Gaea Katreena Cabico with report from Kristine Joy Patag