President Rodrigo Duterte had certified it as urgent, but the Senate failed to pass the P1.16-billion supplemental budget intended for the victims of the anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine following its adjournment sine die early Thursday morning.
Minority Leader Franklin Drilon questioned the absence of a quorum on the floor to discuss the Dengvaxia supplemental budget.
He insisted they could not tackle the issue when it was raised by Senator Loren Legarda after 2 am.
Drilon made his statement even as the chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations on Thursday urged the Health department to tap its current budget to begin the profiling and monitoring of the Dengvaxia vaccinees.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles made the suggestion following the Senate’s failure to approve the P1.161-billion Supplemental Budget to assist the victims of the Dengvaxia vaccine.
“I am calling on the [Health department] to use their 2018 budget to assist our Dengvaxia victims even as we anticipate the Senate’s approval of the supplemental budget when session resumes on July 23,” Nograles said.
“We should not wait for another two months before the [department] takes action.”
Nograles said he was saddened by the Senate’s failure to approve the supplemental budget to aid the 900,000 Dengvaxia vaccinees, but the government should continue providing assistance to the victims.
Drilon invoked the rule that there should be a quorum to take up any business. After the Senate’s approval of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law on third and final reading, several senators left the floor.
“Mr. President, I raised the question of a quorum,” Drilon said when the session resumed around 2 am.
“How about my Dengvaxia [supplemental budget]?” said Legarda, head of the Senate’s committee on finance.
“We can’t take up anything if we have no quorum, Mr. President,” Drilon said.
But Legarda insisted that the chamber pass the bill, saying the Dengvaxia victims were waiting for the supplemental budget bill.
“I leave it to the body to decide whether we want to allocate it now or to make them wait for another two months for the medical assistance to be given,” Legarda said.
Congress will be on a break until July 23 in time for the President’s State of the Nation Address.
“I can read my sponsorship speech now. We can pass it,” Legarda said.
But Drilon insisted on adjourning the session for lack of a quorum on the floor.
“We’re here but unfortunately, there are not enough of our colleagues in the hall to constitute a quorum and therefore we could not conduct business,” Drilon said.
With a vote of 231-0-0, the House approved on third and final reading the proposed fund for the Dengvaxia victims
The fund will use the P1.16-billion partial refund from the French drug manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur, through its local distributor Zuellig Pharma, covering the unused vials of Dengvaxia vaccines.
The fund will be used to shoulder the medical expenses and monitor the health of more than 870,000 public school students who got the Dengvaxia vaccine through the government’s mass immunization program.
The Health department has proposed that 81 percent or P945.8 million of the amount be allocated for the medical assistance program or health assistance fund for the Dengvaxia vaccinees, which covers patients confined in hospitals and outpatients.
On the other hand, 13 percent of the budget or P148.3 million will be spent for public health management, which includes assessment and monitoring of the vaccine recipients, which is pegged at P78 million, and P70 million for supplies and medicines.