In September and October, members of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s security details received Covid-19 vaccines. But no shots were approved for use in the country – then or now.
Lawmakers are trying to find out how the vaccines were smuggled in.
The scandal arose after Mr. Duterte said last month that several members of a military unit entrusted with his personal protection had been vaccinated without his knowledge. Brig. Genl. Jesus Durante III, the unit’s commander, later said a handful of guards got the shots in September and October to protect the president from exposure to the virus.
Mr. Durante said the president only heard about it after the two required shots were given, and that the unit acted without the help or approval of any other authority.
“We vaccinated ourselves,” he said in a television interview. “It’s that easy.”