FORMER Health secretary Janette Garin on Thursday denied any undue haste in the purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccine from Sanofi Pasteur or the implementation of the mass anti-dengue immunization program.
In a TV interview, Garin said there had been talks on the need for a dengue vaccine as early as 2010.
“The first meeting was way back in 2010,” she told Dobol B sa News TV.
This was followed by several meetings in July, August and September 2011, she said, when Sanofi told the government that clinical trials of Dengvaxia had been completed and showed them reports from Asia and Latin America.
In September 2014, she said, then Health secretary Enrique Ona announced the availability of a dengue vaccine at a press conference.
“Unfortunately during that time, Sanofi was not cooperating because there still was no price,” she said in a mix of English and Filipino.
Garin said the timeline used by Blue Ribbon committee chairman Senator Richard Gordon did not take these meetings into account, focusing only on the courtesy call on former President Benigno Aquino III in 2014.
She said there was a sense of urgency in dealing with dengue.
She also said they did not conduct a test on who should receive the vaccine because there was no commercially available test in the market that could be effective.
The Duterte administration suspended the P3.5-billion vaccination program after Sanofi reported that if the vaccine were given to those who had not been infected by dengue, they could suffer more severe forms of the disease later on.
Garin said she empathized with the parents of children who were vaccinated with Dengvaxia, saying her own child and relatives were also recipients.
She said “vested interests” were toying with their emotions, but did not say who these were or what their motives would be.
Earlier this week, Gordon said Garin, Aquino, former Budget secretary Florencio Abad, and other officials were primary conspirators and must be held criminally liable and must be prosecuted for all the tragedy, damage, and possible deaths resulting from the Dengvaxia program.
He also said Aquino, Garin, Abad, and other government officials should be investigated and prosecuted for graft and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Senator JV Ejercito, however, said that while Aquino was guilty of negligence for not exercising due diligence, he believed Garin and Abad should be held primarily liable for the Dengvaxia mess.
The chairman of the Senate Health committee said Aquno should have exercised more prudence and oversight instead of allowing Garin and Abad to proceed with the purchase of the vaccine.
“That is a failure of leadership that should hound his conscience and legacy,” said Ejercito whose committee jointly conducted the Senate investigation of the P3.5-billion Dengvaxia vaccination program.
Ejercito said that more than the hasty procurement, the bigger concern was the health and future of the 830,000 children inoculated with the vaccine.
He said Garin was the one who recommended the purchase of the P3.5 billion untested vaccine. He said the purchase was pushed despite the fact that the clinical trials were not yet finished and ignored the warnings by some experts as to its dangers.
Abad, on the other hand, facilitated, recommended, and approved the release of the money without congressional approval in amazing record time, and during a holiday period.
Ejercito also called on the government to help people initiate a class suit against Sanofi.
“We need to do more to provide assistance to the victims. That is why I filed the Dengvaxia Assistance Program Bill so we can monitor and address the needs of those victimized by this scandal. The hearings also revealed the need to provide for an FDA independent of, and autonomous from, the DoH. This is the purpose of Senate Bill No. 1631 which I filed,” he said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday said that based on his dealings with the former president, he had difficulty believing that Aquino was capable of graft and corruption in connection with the Dengvaxia mess.
The opposition Liberal Party, meanwhile, questioned the timing of the release of the committee report.
“This is simply a smokescreen of the administration to hide the issues hounding its officials,” said former congressman Erin Tañada, now Liberal Party vice president for external affairs.
“Why was the committee report released to the public before it has been filed or sponsored? Are not the signatures of majority of the committee members required before the report can be filed?” Tañada asked.