Special envoy to China Ramon Tulfo attends a Senate hearing in this file photo taken on March 2, 2020. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA
MANILA, Philippines — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will investigate the vaccination of President Rodrigo Duterte’s special envoy to China Mon Tulfo using smuggled vaccines from Sinopharm, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said Wednesday.
“Well, we will refer this report to our regulatory enforcement unit para po imbestigahan nila,” Domingo said in a televised briefing when sought to comment on Tulfo’s admission he received Sinopharm shots last year along with other government officials.
(Well, we will refer this report to our regulatory enforcement unit for them to investigate.)
“Hindi po maganda na nalalaman natin na may ganitong pagpapabakuna na hindi dumadaan sa tamang proseso,” he also said.
(It’s not good to hear that there are vaccinations happening without undergoing the correct process.)
Tulfo, in his newspaper column, admitted he was vaccinated against Covid-19 in October 2020. He also said he applied to be a local distributor of Sinopharm’s vaccine.
But according to Domingo, Sinopharm has yet to apply for its vaccine’s emergency use authorization (EUA) in the Philippines.
“Wala pa pong application for emergency use authorization ang Sinopharm dito po sa FDA,” he said.
(There is no application for emergency use authorization from Sinopharm here in FDA.)
Previously, the FDA also launched an investigation on the inoculation of Presidential Security Group (PSG) members. But until now, Domingo said PSG has yet to respond to their queries.
“Yun pong sa PSG, hanggang sa ngayon po wala pa pong kasagutan ang aming tanong pati ang DOH [Department of Health], sumulat sa kanila pero as of now, wala pa po kaming nakukuhang impormasyon,” Domingo said.
(Regarding PSG’s vaccination, they have yet to answer our questions. Even the DOH wrote to them but as of now, we aren’t getting any information.)