THE Office of the Ombudsman has filed charges of graft and illegal use of public funds against former health secretary now Iloilo Representative Janette Garin and four others in relation to the procurement of the controversial Dengvaxia vaccines.
Graft charges under section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 were filed against Garin, former Department of Health (DOH) undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo, former DOH officer-in-charge Mary Joyce Ducusin, former Philippine Children’s Medical Center executive director Julius Lecciones, and former undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go before the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.
The graft court said the accused “willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously” realigned government funds through the issuance of a special allotment release order (Saro) amounting to P3.55 billion for the implementation of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) of the administration of then President Benigno Aquino III.
A separate case for illegal use of public funds or property was also filed against Garin, Ducusin, Lecciones and Go for causing the issuance of the Saro in favor of the DOH.
The Ombudsman said the funds were used for the purchase of Dengvaxia vaccines in December 2015 and the implementation of school-based immunization for dengue despite it not being part of the EPI as well as the list under the Volume 1 of the Philippine National Drug Formulary (PNDF).
The anti-graft court said that under Executive 49 series of 1993, the PNDF’s Volume 1 should serve as the basis for the procurement of drug products by the government.
It said the procurement of Dengvaxia vaccines also violated related administrative orders and issuances to the damage of the public service.
The Ombudsman recommended bail worth P90,000 each for the graft case and P18,000 for each for the illegal use of public funds and properties.
The immunization program for dengue has been in bad light over the death of several children allegedly after receiving Dengvaxia vaccines, causing the suspension of its implementation.
In a statement, Garin said they see their indictment “as an opportunity to finally put an end to the longstanding issue that apparently continues to haunt us.”
“As we maintain our clear conscience and readiness to face the issues that confront us, we are confident that our sound exercise of discretion, which is backed by hard science, will disprove the allegations in the complaint filed by lawyer Glenn Chiong,” she said. (SunStar Philippines)