FORMER President Benigno Aquino III lamented Monday, February 26, that the issue on the Dengvaxia mess has become politicized.
In his statement during the joint hearing of the House committee on good government and public accountability and committee on heath, Aquino disclosed what prompted his administration to procure the more than P3 billion worth of dengue vaccines that had allegedly caused at least 26 deaths, according to forensic experts of the Public Attorney's Office (PAO).
According to Aquino, he received a memorandum from former Health secretary Enrique Ona in 2010 stating that the cases of dengue in the country had increased.
"Walang klarong dahilan o kapaliwanagang inalok sa pag-angat ng kaso sa naturang rehiyon. Ang nasabi sa atin: May mga hakbang na pwedeng gawin. Sinabihan din tayo ni Sec. Ona na may bakunang pinag-aaralan para sa lahat ng strains ng dengue," Aquino said.
Ona earlier slammed the implementation of the dengue vaccination program, saying that he would not have implemented it because the vaccine was not yet proven effective and safe back then.
To address the increasing number of dengue victims,Aquino said his administration ordered a stop to the indiscriminate fogging, activated Department of Health (DOH) Dengue express lanes in hospitals and installed Insecticide-Treated Screens and Mosquito Ovicidal/Larvicidal (OL) Traps.
In 2014, he said he was advised that the dengue vaccine was ready for use.
"Noong 2014, nasabihan tayong halos handa na ang bakunang matagal na nating inaasahan. Inulit ito sa atin nung 2015 at pinaalala sa ating dumaan na ito sa iba’t ibang proseso at pagsusuri para matiyak ang bisa at kaligtasan nito, sa iba’t ibang panig ng mundo. Dumadaan na rin ang bakuna sa iba’t ibang proseso natin, tulad ng approval ng ating FDA (Food and Drug Administration) at iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno," Aquino said.
In January 2016, then Health secretary Janet Garin said Aquino approved the administration of the dengue vaccine to students in NCR, Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
A month later, Dengvaxia vaccines from French pharmaceutical from Sanofi Pasteur arrived in the country. In April of the same year, the mass vaccination began.
Incumbent Health Secretary Francisco Duque III suspended the dengue vaccination program on December 1, 2017, after Sanofi Pasteur released its latest findings which showed that Dengvaxia could cause severe dengue in seronegative individuals, or those who have not contracted the virus prior to inoculation.
By then, more than 800,000, including children and policemen, have been given Dengvaxia.
Politically motivated
Aquino said he believes his critics' statements against the Dengvaxia leading to a fear of vaccinations were politically motivated.
Aquino cited a report from a panel of doctors and experts in the medical field appealing to those involved in the ongoing examinations into the bodies to let the experts do their job and refrain from making premature conclusions on the immunization program that could create panic among the public.
Senator JV Ejercito, in the earlier Senate hearing, advised the Public Attorney's Office to coordinate with the panel from the University of the Philippines Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in looking into the alleged Dengvaxia related-deaths.
Senator Richard Gordon said it was too early for the PAO to conclude that the deaths were caused by Dengvaxia.
“Hindi po ba maayos na mungkahi iyan? Silang mga aral at eksperto, sila po ang ating pagsalitain para mapayuhan tayo nang maayos," Aquino said.
"Alam na po nating pinasukan na ang isyung ito ng politika. Mainam sigurong ipaalala ko, na ang bawat opisyal ng pamahalaan, elected man o appointed, ay may Oath of Office," Aquino further said.
Aquino cited Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution which states that "the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of democracy.”
"Diin ko po: Sa pagpapa-kaba, sa paghaka-haka, sa pagpapaduda, tinutupad ba ninyo ang “promotion of the general welfare”, pati na ang “protection of life”?" Aquino asked.
PAO chief Persida Rueda Acosta maintained that they could not work closely with the Department of Health (DOH) and with other agencies due to conflict of interest as some of the DOH officials were respondent to the complaints filed by the relatives of Dengvaxia victims before the Department of Justice.
Acosta also declined to give to the DOH tissue samples of the children for further studies. She insisted that the parents were the ones who should decide on the matter. (SunStar Philippines)