Senate to recommend Dengvaxia raps vs Noy, Abad, Garin

The Senate Blue Ribbon committee is set to release the findings on the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy.

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said charges would be recom- mended against former president Benigno Aquino III, his budget secretary Florencio Abad and former health secretary Janette Garin.

Blue Ribbon committee chairman Richard Gordon was supposed to report out the com- mittee findings last Wednesday night but was unable to do so because he was still reviewing the document.

During a forum held at the Senate yesterday, Ejercito, chairman of the Senate committee on health and demography, said that he was able to discuss the report with Gordon the other day to find out its status and the findings contained therein.

“Initially we had different opinions, but one thing is certain, the timeline says it all and it can be concluded that it was really done in haste, with unprecedented speed,” Ejercito said.

During the hearings, it was repeatedly noted how the previous administration seemed to be in a rush to sign a contract with Sanofi Pasteur, the French firm that developed Dengvaxia, and to administer the anti-dengue vaccine to grade school and high school students.

Then president Aquino and Garin met with Sanofi officials in Paris, France on Dec. 1, 2015 and on Dec. 10 that year, the Department of Health asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for P3.5 billion for the purchase of three million doses of Dengvaxia.

On Dec. 29, the DBM issued the P3.5billion special allotment release order for the purchase of the vaccines.

“The timeline speaks for itself. You can already see the unprecedented speed and the haste by which this whole process took place,” Ejercito said.

He said that the liability of officials of the previous administration would start from Aquino and down the line.

While initially defending Aquino for having acted in good faith when he signed the approval for the program, Ejercito said that “ignorance is no excuse” and his involvement could be on the basis of the principle of command responsibility.

“Of course we respect that he’s a former president kaya lang this has become a health issue and ang pinaka-unforgivable dito probably is the negligence and the carelessness by which this program was implemented,” Ejercito said.

In the case of Abad, Ejercito said that he was not convinced that the funds used to purchase the vaccines were sourced from savings.

Apart from this, he said that the realignment of funds should have gone through Congress for approval.

“That’s tantamount to technical malversation,” he said.

On the part of Garin, Ejercito said that she has to answer for the process in which the vaccine was approved for local distribution all the way to its purchase.

“So they have to answer to this, everybody will be given their day in court,” Ejercito said.

Ejercito said that Sanofi is guilty of mental dishonesty because of its supposed failure to disclose vital information about their product.

He urged the authorities involved in the investigation into the case such as the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), the DOH and UP-Philippine General Hospital to get their act together if they intend to file a case against Sanofi in the international court.

PNP disputes PAO findings

The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday disputed the findings of the PAO that a policeman in Metro Manila died this month from complications brought by the Dengvaxia vaccine.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said that contrary to the assessment of the PAO, the 50-year-old policeman from Batasan police station of the Quezon City Police District died as a result of leptospirosis.

The patient reportedly suffered extensive bleeding in the brain, liver, ear, kidneys and intestinal tract.

Dela Rosa insisted that it is impossible for the policeman to have contracted ailments brought by Dengvaxia since the victim had not been injected with the controversial vaccine in the first place.

“He was no longer eligible for Dengvaxia because he is already 50 years old. The requirement should be 45 years old and below,” said Dela Rosa in a press briefing at Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Based on their records, PNP Health Service director Senior Supt. Ma. Antonette Langauon said the subject’s name was not included in their master list of police personnel injected with the vaccine.

She disputed reports quoting the policeman’s family as saying his name was intentionally removed from the list of the QCPD to prevent authorities from finding out his death was related to Dengvaxia.

Dela Rosa said they will never allow a cover-up as the welfare of their people is a primordial concern.

“What are we going to lose if we tell the truth,” said Dela Rosa.

The policeman was confined at the PNP General Hospital on March 2. He was already in critical condition and had fever, jaundice and renal failure. Despite efforts to save him, the patient died the following day.

The only symptom the patient experienced that could be attributed to Dengvaxia was fever, but Bayani explained that it could manifest in other diseases such as leptospirosis.

The policeman also had a history of wading in floods, a common source of leptospirosis.

A total of 134 PNP personnel injected with Dengvaxia who sought medical attention for various symptoms have been discharged.

A civilian employee of the PNP, meanwhile, died from complications brought by pneumonia.

Records showed that 4,548 PNP personnel nationwide had received Dengvaxia and their conditions are being monitored.

Dela Rosa urged policemen who received Dengvaxia to seek medical attention if they experience even the slightest symptom.