DOH, FDA To Probe Mon Tulfo Over Smuggled Sinopharm Vaccine; Palace Mum

The Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will investigate newspaper columnist and special envoy to China Ramon “Mon” Tulfo who admitted being inoculated with smuggled COVID-19 vaccine from China.

In a press briefing yesterday, DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said Tulfo will be included in the ongoing probe into the illegal vaccination of some members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) who were given Sinopharm shots last year.

“Those who admitted that they were inoculated, they will be included in the investigation.  When we see that it is not in accordance with law, that will be considered illegal,” Vergeire noted.

Tulfo had admitted in an interview with One News and One PH that he was inoculated with Sinopharm, which has no application for emergency use authorization and clinical trial with the FDA.

He claimed that he secured the vaccine through “Apollo Pharmaceutical,” which deals with the subsidiary of China’s Sinopharm  in Singapore because he also wanted to be a distributor of the vaccine in Metro Manila.

According to Vergeire, those acting as distributor or supplier of vaccines will also be investigated and “if there would violation, there will be “sanction and penalty.”

In a separate public briefing, FDA director general Eric Domingo assured the public that Tulfo’s case will be referred to the agency’s Regulatory Enforcement Unit which is also investigating the illegal inoculation of the PSG members.

“It is not good to hear people getting vaccinated through unlawful process,” he said.

Read more: Mon Tulfo On Sinopharm Vaccine Side Effect: It’s Like Taking ‘Viagra,’ But Only For Two Weeks

Ask Tulfo

 Malacañang was  mum about the claims of Tulfo, who said President Duterte himself was interested in the Sinopharm jabs not just for himself but for his family as well.

Tulfo said he put Duterte on the phone to talk with a certain “John Boja,” a Sinopharm representative so they could discuss the President’s request.

Tulfo claimed the President's request reached the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which supposedly gave the "go signal" for vaccine samples to be sent to Duterte and his family.

Tulfo did not see anything wrong with the President's move. "I don't find any irregularity there," he said. "You know, we're now given a choice. Which comes first, the lives of millions of Filipinos or propriety?"

However, vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. and the Food and Drug Administration were opposed to it. He said Galvez was always not available and had a lot of excuses when Boja would ask for a meeting.

Tulfo bared that other government officials received the Sinopharm shots.  “Mayroong Cabinet-level, mayroong senador.”

At 74 and with a lot of allergies, Tulfo said Sinopharm shots were effective and that the only side effect he experienced was that he would have an erection every morning for two weeks after the second dose was administered.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said he could not understand why Tulfo’s revelations became a “big deal.” He refused to answer the questions related to Tulfo’s pronouncements, saying he is not the veteran journalist’s spokesperson.

“That’s the account of Mon Tulfo. Hindi po ako tagapagsalita ni Mon Tulfo. Lahat ng kwestiyon niyo, paki-direct sa kanya,” Roque said.

Aside from media interviews, Tulfo wrote about his experience in his newspaper column. He stressed that “I don’t feel guilty about it.”

“I’m not belying anything he said. What I’m saying is please ask him,” he added.

Roque noted it is up to the Office of the Ombudsman to look into the alleged application of Tulfo to become a local supplier of Sinopharm vaccine despite being a special envoy to China. Tulfo said he did not see any conflict of interest because he is a private citizen and his position as special envoy is “honorific.”

“We still do not have an opinion. We don’t know if he has been appointed as special envoy,” Roque said.

Secretary to the Cabinet Karlo Nograles told  ABS-CBN News Channel  that he was “not aware” of what Tulfo was saying.

“Hindi namin napag-usapan sa Cabinet meeting. That is news to me,” Nograles said.

“I really don’t know the details.”

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra told reporters that it is up to the National Bureau of Investigation to determine whether Tulfo should be included among those to be probed for smuggling vaccines for coronavirus disease 2019 into the country.