It will take a court case to recover the P1.84 billion paid by the government to French pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur for the Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccines procured during the previous Aquino administration, a party-list lawmaker said on Saturday.
ACTS-OFW party-list Rep. Aniceto Bertiz said the Philippine Children’s Medical Center is expected to heed the House recommendation to initiate civil action against Dengvaxia distributor Zuellig Pharma Corp. to get the amount back.
The vaccines, which were on Phase IV testing at that time, were procured during the last months of the administration of President Benigno Simeon Aquino III at the urging of then-Health secretary Janette Garin and the funding provided by then-Budget secretary Florencio Abad Jr.
The vaccines were found to exacerbate the effects of dengue on persons who have not been afflicted by the disease once they contracted it. Dengvaxia has been blamed for some 100 deaths, most of them children.
“The PCMC would be remiss in its duty if it refuses to abide by the House recommendation,” Bertiz said.
A joint committee of the House had urged the PCMC to file civil charges against Zuellig, former President Aquino, Abad, Garin, and other former officials for the recovery of the P3 billion paid for the Dengvaxia vaccine, less whatever amount may have already been refunded.
Zuellig sold the anti-dengue vaccine on behalf of French drug-maker Sanofi Pasteur, which previously returned P1.16 billion of the P3 billion in exchange for the unused shots.
However, Sanofi has refused to reimburse the P1.84-billion balance for the shots that had already been consumed, saying a total refund would be tantamount to admitting its vaccine was defective.
The House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability and Health, in their report approved on Feb. 2, also endorsed the filing of graft and technical malversation charges against Aguino, Abad,Garin, and other former and current officials over the bungled public vaccination program. Maricel V. Cruz
“ACTS-OFW voted in favor of the report and its recommendations,” Bertiz said.
“There’s no question that had this botched inoculation program occurred in America or in Europe, those responsible would be swamped with civil as well as criminal actions by now,” he added.
More than 700,000 public children had already received Dengvaxia shots by the time the program was terminated in December 2017 due to grave safety issues.
The scandal has set back the National Immunization Program against other preventable diseases, with many parents refusing to have their children vaccinated against common diseases such as measles, rubella, tetanus, diphtheria, pneumonia, hepatitis B, polio and Japanese encephalitis.
An ongoing measles outbreak in Luzon has been attributed in part to the higher vaccination avoidance.
According to the House report, graft charges may be warranted due to the apparent collusion among officials to ensure that large quantities of Dengvaxia would be purchased by the government, even though it was uncertain whether the vaccine was safe and effective.
“The officials provided shortcuts in the process to favor Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of a commercially available dengue vaccine. They may be held liable for conspiring and confederating with one another for the purpose of giving a private party unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference,” the report read.
The report also said Aquino, Abad, Garin and other executives should be held liable for technical malversation, or the illegal use of public funds, after the former President approved Garin’s request to use “savings” to purchase the vaccine.
The Constitution prohibits the use of savings to fund procurements not authorized by the General Appropriations Act, the report said.
The General Appropriations Act of 2015 did not set aside funds for the acquisition of the Dengvaxia vaccines, nor did the Department of Health’s Expanded Immunization Program for that year, the report added.
Charges have already been filed against Aquino, Abad and Garin before the Department of Justice in relation to the Dengvaxia issue. Maricel