(Eagle News) – Senator Richard Gordon said former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III should also be investigated, and possibly even invited to the senate hearing probing the government’s unusually hasty procurement and implementation of the anti-dengue vaccination program, particularly the Dengvaxia vaccine which has not completed clinical trials.
Gordon said that the P3.5 billion budget released for the Dengvaxia vaccination on more than 800,000 schoolchildren was also released with undue haste, or in just a matter of months when it would normally take this at least a year or two.
The vaccination of school children was even done in April 2016, when the school year was about to end, and just a month before the May 2016 national elections.
Senator Gordon said former President Aquino has a lot of explaining to do. He told reporters he is considering inviting Aquino in the next senate blue ribbon committee hearing.
“I’ll talk to the others and see whether we should pero if I were him, I’d go para mas maganda sa kanya na mapaliwanag ko ‘yung side ko,” Gordon told reporters.
According to the timeline on the Dengvaxia vaccines’ procurement, it was already December 22, 2015 when the Food and Drug Administration approved the certification for the Dengvaxia vaccine.
The following day, December 23, former Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad already issued a memorandum for President Aquino for the funding for the Dengvaxia vaccination using savings from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF). The amount was P3,556,155,900 for the expanded program for immunization where the Dengue vaccine is to be used in three identified regions: NCR or National Capital Region, Region 3 or Central Luzon, and Region 4-a or Southern Tagalog region.
On December 28, a Monday, after the holidays, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) already asked the EPI or the Expanded Program on Immunization to prepare procurement documents for the dengue vaccine.
It should be noted that it was only on December 1, 2015, that former President Aquino had a meeting with Sanofi Pasteur executives at the Hotel Scribe in Paris. This was when he was in Paris for the United Nations Conference on Climate Change. He was also with former health secretary Janet Garin and former Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.
Gordon said the former President should be asked to explain this.
“Ang region 3, 4 tsaka NCR ang pinakamaraming boto eh, so kung hindi pera, boto. Wala pa akong sinasabi. Nakakapagtaka dun lang nila inilagay ang sample pagkatapos ang laki ng amount. Mukhang hindi pinag-aralan ng husto yung efficacy ng gamot,” Gordon noted in an ambush interview with reporters.
He said former President Aquino should explain this undue haste in the purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccines and its immediate vaccination on hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren, even if the vaccine had not completed its clinical trials.
Former Health Secretary Janet Garin insisted, however, that there was no corruption in the procurement of the Dengvaxia vaccines. But she said she is open to an investigation.
“We are hoping that this would really be investigated … Ako rin po ay nababagabag. Kung saka-sakali pong sa imbestigasyon niyo, your honors, ay meron po akong command responsibility as secretary of that time, I am not pointing fingers with other… I welcome and I will fully answer whatever it takes. At rerespetuhin ko po kung ano man ‘yung inyong magiging desisyon,” she said.
Sanofi Pasteur had earlier released a statement that based on their studies, the Dengvaxia vaccine is not recommended for those who have not had dengue prior to vaccination since this would lead to a more severe type of dengue.
This had caused alarm for parents whose children had been vaccinated in the school-based dengue vaccination program. There had also been at least two reported deaths of school-children after they had been given Dengvaxia shots. (with a report from Meanne Corvera, Eagle News Service)
