Senate panels eye raps vs Aquino, Abad, Garin
THE report of the Senate investigation into the controversial anti-dengue vaccine - ing of charges against former president Benigno Aquino 3rd and two of his cabinet members, Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said Thursday.
Ejercito, who heads the anti-dengue vaccine. the Senate Committee on “One thing is certain, and Health and Demography, the timeline says it all that said his committee and the it ( Dengvaxia purchase) Blue Ribbon panel led by was done in haste,” said Ejercito during the Kapihan concluded there was haste in sa Senado forum on Thursday. the decision of the Aquino “You can already see administration to procure
the unprecedented speed and the haste by which this whole process took place.”
He said the Senate panels that investigated the vaccine contro sure that those who would be found liable should face the consequences.
Apart from Aquino, the senator said, the committee would also - cal malversation and negligence complaints against former budget secretary Florencio Abad and for
Ejercito said the committee report on the Dengvaxia probe was and would be submitted to the plenary upon the resumption of session in May.
During the Senate hearings on the anti- dengue vaccine mess, that the procurement process for the vaccine suddenly went on full-speed after Aquino met with separate occasions in China and in Paris.
speed of the process from the time May 2015 up to the launching of the anti- dengue immunization program in April 2016.
He noted that after Dengvaxia the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approved the dengue vaccine’s commercial release on December 22, 2015.
The Department of Budget and Management then released a special allotment release order for the dengue immunization program a week after the FDA approval.
“The timeline was the basis of the committee report, it speaks for itself. You can already see the unprecedented speed and the haste by which this whole process took place,” Ejercito said.
He pointed out that because of the apparent haste, the health of 830,000 schoolchildren inoculated with Dengvaxia was placed at risk.
“For me the situation of the children who received the vaccine is more important and it gives us more reason why those responsible for the vaccine be held accountable,” he added.