Duterte's marching orders: Probe Dengvaxia mess, charge those liable

WHETHER the issue on the Dengvaxia vaccination program has become politicized or not, President Rodrigo Duterte is concerned only with continuing the investigation and identifying the people who should be held criminally liable for the program.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. on Monday, February 26, shrugged off the statement of former President Benigno Aquino III about the issue becoming politicized.

Roque said President Duterte has been keeping his distance from the issue and has nothing to do with critics lambasting Aquino for the mess.

“His (Duterte’s) continuing order is for the investigation, (for) the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to continue and to conclude it so that we will find out if people should be criminally liable. Sanofi and the past administration (should) know that they will face not only civil liability but also criminal liability,” Roque said.

Roque said questions on the hasty procurement of the vaccines should be answered.

“The people merely want to know - why was the process of procuring (Dengvaxia) fast-tracked? It took only a day to purchase it. Second, what’s the truth? Do they know that Dengvaxia really has a bad effect (on) someone who has not acquired dengue before? That’s the ultimate issue now,” he said.

Roque said the President, for his part, has preferred to remain "calm" and "very rational" so as not to fuel discussions on the Dengvaxia issue.

"If it is [poltiicized, it is] certainly not because of the President. The President has taken a very calm, very rational approach. He has made a declaration that he understands why the previous administration decided to use Dengvaxia," the Palace official said in a press briefing.

The anti-dengue mass immunization program sparked controversy after Dengvaxia maker, Sanofi Pasteur, admitted in November 2017 that its product could cause severe dengue on persons who have not contracted the virus prior to immunization.

During Monday's House hearing into the dengue vaccine mess, Aquino slammed some "noisy" critics who took advantage of Sanofi's assessment to sow fear and alarm over the the anti-dengue immunization drive.

"I know that this issue has been politicized,” he said.

The former president also lamented that issuing premature conclusions on the Dengvaxia fiasco had prompted some to refuse immunization even against other diseases.

“Many have reportedly refused now to receive vaccines that are not controversial. Meaning, they are refusing protection from illness. This can lead to possible illness, and thereafter they suffer from all kinds of problems like hospitalization, loss of income, and possible death,” Aquino said.

Those who are politicizing the issue may not have intended this, but here we are now," he added.

The Department of Health estimated that 830,000 people, mostly schoolchildren, have received Dengvaxia since it was launched by former Health secretary Janette Garin in April 2016.

Incumbent Health Secretary Francisco Duque suspended the dengue vaccination program on December 1, 2017, a day after Sanofi released its findings about Dengvaxia possibly causing severe dengue in seronegative individuals. (SunStar Philippines)

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