The House of Representatives will transmit the P1.161-billion supplemental budget to the Senate for the medical assistance for about 900,000 schoolchildren inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine shots even if their illnesses were not related to it.
Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles, head of the House committee on appropriations,
said they would approve House Bill 7449 by Tuesday or Wednesday on third and final reading following the committee’s endorsement for plenary passage.
“We intend to send the supplemental budget to the Senate as soon as possible after approving this on third and final reading this week,” Nograles said.
“This is very important to provide medical assistance to Dengvaxia vaccine recipients and we will act with urgency.”
Meanwhile, the Senate committee on finance will hold a public hearing today, May 28, to discuss the bills proposing to finance the medical needs of the children who were given the Dengvaxia vaccine.
Senator Loren Legarda, head of the finance committee and author of Senate Bill 1794, will preside over the hearing on the proposal to appropriate P1,161,710,000 as supplemental appropriations for FY 2018.
“This first public hearing is our first step towards appropriating a sufficient amount to fund the much-needed support for the Dengvaxia vaccinees by providing them with medical assistance for medical-kits, hospitalization and out-patient care services such as laboratory tests,” Legarda said.
Legarda is hopeful that this medical assistance, once enacted into law, will allay the fears of the public, particularly the families of the more than 800,000 children that were administered with the dengue vaccine.
“Dengvaxia was originally intended to help reduce, if not eradicate, the dengue incidents in the country, and it was most unfortunate that the public was not informed of its accompanying risks,” Legarda said.
Health Undersecretary Rolando Domingo earlier assured Nograles they will help even those whose illnesses were not caused by the Dengvaxia vaccine.
Rep. Luis Ray Villafuerte chided the Health department for not informing the public about its response mechanisms for the Dengvaxia recipients.
“While you [Health department] have all of these, they’re not known. Even I as a congressman do not know about those. What more the ordinary people who have been affected? There’s an issue on awareness and accessibility,” he said.
Villafuerte is the vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations.
He expressed concern that amid the House of Representatives’ commitment to appropriate funds to address the Dengvaxia woes, the medical assistance for such patients might not reach the ground at the proper time.