By Ellson A. Quismorio
Former President Benigno S. Aquino III said Monday that he would’ve discontinued the government’s Dengvaxia-based anti-dengue fever inoculation program if he was still in power by the time crucial information about the vaccine came to light.
Aquino gave this statement before members of the joint House panel inquiry on the purchase of some P3 billion worth of Dengvaxia vaccines by his administration. The participating panels were the House Committees on Good Government and Public Accountability and on Health.
Camarines Sur 3rd district Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr., in his interpellation of Aquino, wanted to know if the latter would’ve stopped the mass vaccination himself had he been in a position to do so.
“If you were still the President, would you have cancelled the vaccination program?” Bordado asked Aquino, who stepped down as Chief Executive on June 30, 2016.
Aquino answered by saying he would’ve stopped the program had he known the November 2017 findings of French multinational pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, the makers of Dengvaxia, that the vaccine could have adverse effects on seronegative patients – basically individuals who have never contracted dengue before.
Aquino, who repeatedly pointed out in his answers that he was neither a doctor nor a medical expert, said he was made to believe by Sanofi that Dengvaxia would “induce the body to create anti-bodies” and that it would cover “four sero-types.”
“Kaya dinevelop ‘yung vaccine na good for four sero-types ay dahil nga ‘yung posibilidad na mas malalang impeksyon kapag na-impeksyon ka ng ibang strain after nu’ng una,” he said.
“Ngayon po noong November 2017, bigla na lang iba na ata ang sinasabi, nadagdagan bigla, na kung hindi ka pa na-impeksyon dati, pwedeng lumala intong impeksyon na susunod,” Aquino noted.
“Parang wala kang proteksyon. Parang baliktad na baliktad doon sa sinabi nila nu’ng una at ‘yan ang gusto kong malaman kung bakit. ‘Yun ang magandang dahilan, kung ako ay namamahala pa ay talagang ihihinto ko ‘yan. Sa dudang ‘yun, sa baliktarang sagot, dapat ihinto,” he further said.
In April 2016 or a month before the presidential elections, the Philippines became the first country in the world to launch a public inoculation plan against dengue using Dengvaxia.
Current Department of Health (DoH) Secretary Francisco Duque III suspended the program in December 2017, after an estimated 830,000 schoolchildren had already received Dengvaxia shots.
During the Monday hearing, Duque told the joint House panel that there are now 39 deaths among the vaccinated children. This is 10 more than the figure reported to the solons during the previous hearing last week.
Of the 39 fatalities, only 14 cases have been studied by DoH. Four of the 14 have “dengue fever markers;” only three were confirmed to have died from dengue fever.
Duque reckoned that not all of the deaths were related to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine, adding that the Department’s investigation is ongoing.
He also said that there was no basis on the statement of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) that the deaths of children were due to the government’s immunization program.
PAO chief, lawyer Persida Acosta, who is also involved in a separate investigation on the Dengvaxia mess, revealed to the panel that they can only file civil charges for now and not criminal charges.
“We are waiting for the recommendations of Congress,” she said.
Aquino was excused early by the joint panel as courtesy to a former president. But House reporters caught up with him before he could leave the premises.
Asked what his message was to the families of the kids who died after receiving Dengvaxia, the 58-year-old said he “condoled” with them.
“May kasabihan: para magkaroon ng tamang solusyon, dapat magkaroon ng tamang pagunawa doon sa problema,” he replied.
“Number one, ako po ay nakikiramay sa mga namatayan. Maganda pong malaman natin talaga kung ano ang kadahilanan na namatay ang kanilang mga kaanak. At through doon, mako-correct natin ‘yung sitwasyon, hindi ho ba?”
Aquino went on to ask the public to keep their emotions in check regarding the issue.
