SENATOR Richard Gordon has suggested that the commander of the Presidential Security Group resign his position after publicly admitting the inoculation of his troops with an unregistered COVID-19 vaccine.
Brigadier General Jesus Durante III had earlier disclosed that the PSG acquired the vaccine for free, intent only to protect the President from the dreaded COVID-19 disease. His defense is that of “good faith” in the performance of his functions.
Gordon’s call for Durante’s resignation was made in the context of Republic Act (RA) 9711, which outlaws the manufacture, importation, exportation, sale, offering for sale, distribution, transfer, non-consumer use, promotion and advertising of unregistered health products.
RA 9711 is a current law that does not provide for “good faith” exceptions. The good General has been having a hard time explaining how his unit came into possession of what are fundamentally contraband or smuggled items.
The Civil Code provides that ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith. This basic principle of law is anchored on public policy intended to prevent evasion of the law.
To reinforce this, article 14 of the Civil Code states that penal laws and those of public security and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live or sojourn in Philippine territory.
What makes this case more embarrassing for General Durante is his admission that he informed the President of the inoculation, but only after the fact. He reported his violation of the law to the very person entrusted with the execution and enforcement of the laws.
This is no joking matter because it is the constitutional duty of the President to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. He is supposed to enforce all the laws, without exception, and these include the Constitution itself, judicial decisions, administrative rules and regulations, even municipal ordinances and treaties, and statutes passed by Congress such as RA 9711.
The President is also the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines. While the President is a civilian, under the Constitution he holds the ultimate military authority. He is the legal, administrative and ceremonial head of the armed forces. This would include, surely, the PSG.
If General Durante is to be believed, then he broke the chain of command in open defiance of the Constitution. Civilian supremacy over the military was also thereby rendered meaningless. The formulation of drug policies and the enactment of laws to enforce those policies are civilian activities under the Constitution.
But the General is on record saying that the PSG made its own research and the soldiers administered the vaccines by themselves. He would not name the generous individual or group who donated the vaccines to them.
So delicate is the vaccination process that the FDA itself has published guidelines even for pharmacists who have some level of medical training.
Safeguards must be in place prior to immunization, i.e., qualification of the person administering the vaccine, dedicated space for the activity, sanitation, good distribution and storage practices, patient counseling, and monitoring and reporting of adverse events following immunization.
What transpired was a rogue immunization activity with the use of contraband vaccines that came in through the cracks of the Philippine regulatory system.
While the lower ranked PSG personnel may somehow claim “good faith” in following a direct order from a military superior, the General himself appears resigned to limiting culpability to his level and has publicly refused to disclose any participation on the part of those who may be higher in rank than himself – civilian or otherwise.
Consequently, what we are witness to as of this writing is that of the President’s henchmen doing their best to bury the event as a non-issue.
Secretaries Roque and Panelo have taken turns blaming the political opposition for the questions still nagging the Palace respecting an occurrence that was inadvertently exposed by the President himself. Senators Sotto and dela Rosa are angling the vaccination as a heroic act on the part of PSG personnel.
Will the people excuse an activity that was illegal in its inception if its ultimate beneficiary is no less than the commander-in-chief?
Senator Gordon may be alone in his call for General Durante to consider resignation as an option. Will the country move on, or will transparency prevail?/PN
