We didn’t want to expose the public to a risk that could have been prevented, he says
(Eagle News) — Former President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday defended the apparent haste with which the money for the purchase of Dengvaxia was released.
Speaking before the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the Dengvaxia mess, Aquino said this had to be done so as not to “expose the public to a risk that could have been prevented.”
“The bottomline is this. When I got back home, I was told (Dengvaxia) was available already and had to go through various processes before we could purchase the same. Until they got the (Food and Drug Administration) and the (Formulary Executive Council approval)..we could (not) buy it. With the expectation it would be getting all this, the next question was how do we fund it..,” he said.
He explained that if by December 31 the funds intended for something were not utilized, “it reverts to the national treasury.”
“How to fund? You can go and ask a supplemental budget which requires new sources of revenue…This December, we’ll go to Congress and hopefully, with the (2016) elections, Congress will approve it….find a new source and identify all of this..End result is if we don’t do this at this point in time, you’re practically saying the first implementation of this vaccine will be in 2017…and it will be (under the) next administration..There’s no guarantee din it will happen in 2017,” he said.
“The choice is simple. We can implement it at this point in time…. or wait at least a year and expose our people to a risk that could have been prevented because of this concern,” he added.
The Senate is holding an inquiry into the Dengvaxia snafu.
The snafu started when Sanofi, the vaccine manufacturer, admitted it could cause “severe cases” in those who have not had dengue.
In its defense, Sanofi said the information came to light only recently.
Over 800,000 schoolchildren have been vaccinated under the government’s vaccination program started in 2016, during the term of Aquino.
