Statement of Senator Risa Hontiveros on reports that 100,000 POGO workers were inoculated with unauthorized covid vaccine

Hindi pwedeng ipagsawalang kibo ng pamahalaan ang napabalitang paggamit ng 100,000 POGO workers ng smuggled at unauthorized vaccine. Unregistered pharmaceuticals are actively smuggling, distributing and selling unauthorized vaccines in the country and our regulatory agencies don't seem to be ringing the alarm loud enough. This is clearly a crime under our laws.

Hindi rin ito ang unang beses na may kinasangkutan na anomalya ang mga POGO sa bansa ngayong pandemya. Last year, a number of "underground" hospitals and illegal treatment centers catering to Chinese POGO workers were discovered and shut down.

The government should act immediately to identify and prosecute the source of these smuggled, unverified and therefore dangerous vaccines, which threaten the effectivity of our health response to COVID-19.

The Department of Health (DOH), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) must enforce stricter measures to ensure that our protocols for vaccine approval are followed and that health professionals with under-the-table vaccination dealings are stripped of their licenses and held criminally liable.

Bakit kapag regular na mamamayan na walang mask o umattend ng bawal na party, inaaresto at ikinukulong? Pero kapag Chinese nationals o opisyal ng gobyerno na gumagamit ng ilegal na bakuna, pinagtatakpan pa at pinapalusot?

Bakit ba ang nangunguna pa yatang kunsintidor ng kontrabando ay ang sarili pa nating gobyerno?

Filipinos deserve a government that does its job and implements the law equally and fairly. Tandaan natin, hindi lang ito isyu ng legalidad. Buhay ng mga kababayan natin ang nakataya dito.