Envoy admits to smuggled vaccine, eyes Sinopharm distributorship

President Rodrigo Duterte's special envoy to China, Ramon Tulfo, admitted to receiving a smuggled COVID-19 vaccine and is seeking to establish a Sinopharm distributorship in the Philippines.

Tulfo stated that he does not perceive a conflict of interest between his role as a special envoy and his business aspirations, and his decision to get vaccinated was driven by a desire to ensure its effectiveness.

He explained that he obtained the vaccine through a personal contact who smuggled it into the country and did not leverage his official position to acquire it.

Tulfo also said that President Duterte sought to obtain samples of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine even if it had not yet been approved by the FDA, but Malacañang clarified that the President did not negotiate directly with Sinopharm.

He accused vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. of being unresponsive to overtures to facilitate the delivery of these doses.

However, Sinopharm vaccines can only be used by personnel of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted them a "compassionate" license for the administration of the China-made vaccine.