Nograles said that he’s unaware that Ramon Tulfo, a senator, and Cabinet execs allegedly got “smuggled” vaccines.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said that he’s unaware that President Rodrigo Duterte’s special envoy to China Ramon “Mon” Tulfo, a senator, and Cabinet execs allegedly got “smuggled” vaccines.
Nograles said that he was unaware about the claim of Ramon Tulfo who said he — alongside a senator and some Cabinet-level officials — got vaccinated with “smuggled” Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines in October last year.
Ramon Tulfo first made the admission in his column on The Manila Times last Saturday, then in a One News interview last Tuesday.
According to Tulfo, he got the said vaccine last October 2020 since he wanted to test it on himself as he’s applying to be a Sinopharm distributor in the Philippines.
In an interview on ANC, Nograles on Wednesday said that he’s unaware of Ramon Tulfo’s claim as they didn’t discuss it at the Cabinet meeting.
Tulfo had maintained that his actions were above board and he shouldn’t be held liable for it since he wasn’t a government official.
Likewise, Tulfo argued that his post as President Rodrigo Duterte’s special envoy to China was only “honorific”, and that the President was aware of such vaccines getting vaccinated on Tulfo and some Cabinet-level officials.
Even after these statements, Nograles couldn’t say if Tulfo must be held liable.
“We have different agencies in charge of that. We leave it up to the agencies of government, if it is actionable,” Nograles said.
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In order for the vaccine to be legally used in the Philippines, it needed an emergency use authorization (EUA) issued by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The Food and Drug Administration can also issue a permit for compassionate use of a vaccine which allowed legal administration of the vaccine but didn’t contain FDA’s guarantee of efficacy and safety.
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