VACC files another lawsuit vs Aquino, aides over Dengvaxia mess

A fresh criminal complaint was lodged against former President Benigno Aquino III and several of his former officials on Monday over the Dengvaxia controversy before the Department of Justice.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. filed a complaint for graft, malversation of public funds, causing undue injuries and violations of the procurement law against Aquino, former Budget Secretary Butch Abad, and former Health Secretary Janette Garin, along with former and current officials of the Department of Health and executives of pharmaceutical firms Zuellig and Sanofi Pasteur.
Named in the complaint were: Health Undersecretaries Carol Tanio, Gerardo Bayugo, Lilibeth David, and Mario Villaverde; Health Assistant Secretaries Lyndon Lee Suy and Nestor Santiago; other Department of Health (DOH) officials namely, Laureano Cruz, Joyce Ducusin, Mar Wynn Bello, Leonila Gorgolon, Rio Magpantay, Ariel Valencia, and Julius Lecciones; former DOH Undersecretaries namely, Nemesio Gako, Vicente Belizario, Jr., and Kenneth Hartigan-Go; head executive assistant to Garin, Dr. Yolanda Oliveros.
The complaint alleged that the “actions and key roles played by the different respondents in the anti-dengue Dengvaxia mess and which caused undue injury to any private party” was evident during the hearings conducted by the Senate and House of Representatives into the controversy.
As to Aquino’s alleged complicity, the complaint stated he met with Sanofi officials abroad “and juggled funds and authorized the release of a total of P3.55-billion” for the procurement of the vaccine within the 45-day election ban. Abad was charged for causing the issuance of the allotment order for the procurement, and Garin for being the health chief at the time.
The complaint accused Sanofi of “undue interest over the implementation of the DOH,” and accused Aquino and Garin of using the program “to further the candidacy of Liberal Party presidential bet Mar Roxas as well as the other candidates of the Liberal Party, at the expense of innocent children, and their utter disregard of the Procurement Law.”
“Irrefutably, some deaths and dengue shocks are linked to Dengvaxia. At Phase III (pivotal trials), the respondents should know or should have known that the efficacy as well as safety of the subject vaccine should could not as yet be determined with pinpoint accuracy; hence, they should have desisted from proceeding to implement the dengue immunization program of the DOH on a mass scale,” the complaint stated.
It also alleged that Aquino and the other respondents failed to comply with World Health Organization (WHO) standards on the licensing and post-licensing monitoring of Dengvaxia, and failed to promptly disclose any adverse effects associated with the mass vaccination.
A separate complaint for plunder is set to be filed by complainants against Aquino and other officials.
VACC’s Manuelito Luna said they chose to file the case before the DOJ because they did not trust the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Why will we file the case there, [when] we want the Ombudsman impeached? Marami natutulog na kaso doon (Ombudsman),” he said.
“This is about justice. Nothing more, nothing less,” he added, as he expressed sympathy to parents of suspected Dengvaxia deaths.
Earlier this month, the VACC filed a complaint against Aquino and the other officials for violating the 2016 election ban on government projects when they implemented the Dengvaxia program.
Ex-Pres Aquino, aides face poll complaint tied to dengue vaccines
They also filed administrative complaints against incumbent Health officials, alleging they committed gross negligence and grave misconduct in the implementation of the vaccination program.
VACC files admin raps vs DOH officials over Dengvaxia mess
The government spent P3.5 billion to purchase Dengvaxia for one million public school children in regions reported to have the highest incidence of dengue in 2015.
The vaccine had been given to about 830,000 children in Metro Manila, Southern Luzon, Central Luzon and Central Visayas.
The Department of Health suspended the vaccination program last year after Sanofi Pasteur, the manufacturer of Dengvaxia, admitted that the medicine might cause more severe symptoms on people who have not contracted dengue.
Sanofi Pasteur refunded about P1.6 billion to the government, but refused to reimburse the full P3.5 billion, saying the vaccine is effective.

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