ILEGAL at labag sa moralidad ang paggamit ng Presidential Security Group (PSG) ng smuggled vaccine na hindi awtorisado ng Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“It is legally and morally wrong. Saving the life of the President, though in intention, should adhere to the FDA laws on the use of efficacious and safe vaccines and in compliance to the advice of DOH and medical experts,” pahayag ni dating COVID-19 task force adviser Dr. Tony Leachon sa pagdepensa ni Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo sa kontrobersiyal na paggamit ng PSG ng “smuggled” COVID-19 vaccine na gawa ng Sinopharm ng China.
Giit ni Leachon, hindi dapat ituring na guinea pigs ang mga kagawad ng PSG at may karapatang pantao sila bilang mga pasyente.
“The PSG soldiers should not be treated as guinea pigs. They have human rights as patients,” ani Leachon.
Sa isang kalatas, iginiit ni Panelo, ang pagturok ng bakunang hindi rehistrado sa mga kagawad ng PSG ay ‘legally valid’ at alinsunod umano sa tungkulin nilang tiyakin ang kaligtasan ng Pangulo ‘at all cost.’
“We note that the PSG members were vaccinated without the use of public funds. Hence, this issue is not a matter of who should have received the vaccine first, as the PSG’s undertaking was not government sponsored nor sanctioned – their members [were] acting on their own initiative,” ani Panelo.
Buwelta ni Leachon, mahinang katuwiran ang pagbabalewala ng PSG sa FDA at Department of Health (DOH) at nakasisira ito sa kabuuang national vaccination program ng pamahalaan na nakabatay sa ligtas, mabisa , at aprobadong bakuna ng FDA.
“Protecting the life of the President is a lame excuse; [not] seeking the advice of DOH and medical experts and even the FDA is both reckless and irresponsible. It has jeopardized the whole national vaccination program of the government hinged on the use of efficacious and safe FDA-approved vaccines,” wika ni Leachon.
(ROSE NOVENARIO)