DOJ summos Aquino, Garin, Abad in Dengvaxia fiasco probe

VACCINE PROBE After a Senate investigation into the Dengvaxia controversy, former President Benigno Aquino III, former Health Secretary Janette Garin and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad have been ordered to appear at the Department of Justice in connection with a criminal complaint arising from the vaccine fiasco. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Former President Benigno Aquino III and two former members of his Cabinet have been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with a criminal complaint brought against them by President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters in connection with the P3.5-billion Dengvaxia fiasco.

Besides Aquino, former Health Secretary Janette Garin and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad have also been directed by the DOJ to attend the preliminary investigation set for March 23.

The three were accused by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. (VPCI) of multiple homicide and physical injuries in the deaths of several schoolchildren who had been vaccinated with Dengvaxia.

They are accused of violating the Revised Penal Code, Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act—all criminal offenses that under the law should be handled by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Halted program

Likewise summoned were former and current officials of the Department of Health (DOH) who took part in the implementation of a mass immunization program against dengue using Dengvaxia, which was continued by the Duterte administration until it was stopped last Dec. 1.

The program was discontinued after the drug manufacturer, French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur, announced findings that the vaccine worsened symptoms in vaccinated people who had no previous exposure to the dengue virus.

More than 830,000 schoolchildren have been vaccinated under the program.

Many children have come down ill and more than 40 have died, but medical authorities have not pronounced any of the deaths as having been directly caused by Dengvaxia.

Senior officials of Sanofi Pasteur and Zuellig Pharma were also required to appear before the DOJ panel of investigators headed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rossane Balauag.

Last week, Sen. Richard Gordon said he would recommend the prosecution of Aquino, Garin and Abad, who, according to him, should be held accountable for the Dengvaxia mess.

Interestingly, the possible criminal charges mentioned by Gordon had already been raised in the criminal complaint filed by the VACC and VPCI, whose officials had been appointed by the President to various posts in his administration.

‘Show concrete proof’

Aquino, who attended all legislative inquiries into the Dengvaxia controversy, has denied the allegations and asked the Commission on Elections to throw out a separate complaint filed against him, Garin and Abad by the same groups accusing them of electioneering for implementing the immunization program just before national elections in May 2016.

“It’s clear that it (complaint) failed in all standards of the law and truth. It’s also clear that the destiny of a complaint like this is the trash bin,” said the former President.

“I reiterate, under the correct and worthy justice system, the mandate of the law to the complainant is to… show concrete proof,” he added.