Aquino, ex-Cabinet members seek dismissal of charges on Dengvaxia case

June 4, 2018

Former President Benigno Aquino III on Monday sought the dismissal of charges against him from the deaths of school children inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine.

Aquino, with former Health Secretary Janette Garin and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, submitted before the Department of Justice's panel of prosecutors their counter-affidavits to  complaint filed by anti-corruption groups Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. (VPCI) last February.

In his 27-page answer, Aquino denied liability over deaths from the implementation of the anti-dengue immunization program.

Garin and Abad also submitted their respective answers to the criminal charges.

According to Aquino, he cannot held liable for criminal negligence because there is no valid evidence to prove the  vaccine caused the deaths.

"Fact-finding investigation relative to the matter are still ongoing, and medical experts have, in fact, categorically declared that to date, there has not been any definitive finding that the deaths were directly caused by the administration of Dengvaxia vaccine," he said in his counter-affidavit.

He denied any anomaly in the P3.5-billion immunization project.

"Likewise, the procurement process was aboveboard and within the timelines prescribed by R.A. 9184, as determined by the DOH report. Finally, the dengue vaccine passed all required clinical trials, was found to be safe and effective and there were no reported adverse or ill-effects at the time of its approval, launch and implementation," Aquino stressed.

In a press conference after the hearing, Aquino said he approved implementing the program as one of the measures to address the increase in dengue cases from only 5,100 cases in 1995 to 200,415 in 2015.

Aquino said he was informed about possible risks of the vaccine but believed there were more benefits than possible repercussions.

"The risk of possible severe dengue as effect for seri-negative or those not yet exposed to dengue involved 0.2 percent. That's too little as compared to those who benefitted from the vaccine," he stressed in Filipino.

Garin insisted that by World Health Organization standards, the ongoing exhumation and autopsy being conducted of reported victims are actually not necessary to determine the link of the vaccine to the deaths.

"In determining the causality, there is a process to be followed and that doesn't include autopsy. You just get blood samples. So why did they not follow science?" she said.

Aquino criticized government officials and other accusers for creating  panic and destroying the reputation of the DOH and its immunization programs.

"Because of the sensationalization, misleading and misinformation, many parents have made the wrong decision of refusing vaccine for their schoolchildren. The health of our people are jeopardized because of this and that's what I'm more concerned of," Aquino said. DMS