THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally commenced its investigation into the criminal charges filed against President Benigno S. Aquino III and 19 others in connection with their alleged role in the P3.5-billion anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine mess that has been found to cause health risks to children already injected but without history of
the disease.
In Office Order 439, Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan Jr. announced the creation of a four-man panel of prosecutors who would conduct preliminary investigation on the complaint filed by anticorruption groups Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution Inc. earlier this month.
Catalan designated Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rossane Balauag as chairman of the panel with Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Hazel Decena Valdez and Assistant State Prosecutors Consuelo Corazon Pazziuagan and Gino Paolo Santiago as members.
The panel is tasked to investigate and determine whether there is probable cause to indict the respondents for multiple homicide and physical injuries, malversation of public funds and violations of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and RA 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act).
Aside from Aquino, other respondents named in the complaint were former Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad; former Health Secretary Janette L. Garin; incumbent Health
Undersecretaries Carol Tanio, Gerardo Bayugo, Lilibeth David and Mario Villaverde; former retired undersecretaries Nemesio Gako, Vicente Belizario Jr. and Kenneth Hartigan-Go; assistant secretaries Lyndon Lee Suy and Nestor Santiago; former financial management service director Laureano Cruz; incumbent Department of Health (DOH) directors Joyce Ducusin, May Wynn Belo, Leonila Gorgolon, Rio Magpantay, Ariel Valencia and Julius Lecciones; and Garin’s former executive assistant Yolanda Oliveros.
Also in the charge sheet were the senior executives of Sanofi Pasteur, the developer and manufacturer of Dengvaxia; and Selling Pharma, the DOH’s supplier of the vaccine.
The groups said they filed the complaint based on the testimonies of the resources persons invited to shed light on the issue by the House Committee on Health and the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigation (Blue Ribbon) joint with other concerned committees, which substantiated their claim that the respondents were “directly and proximately” responsible for the Dengvaxia vaccine mess.
They said Aquino and the other respondents should be held responsible for “ill-advisedly, thoughtlessly and imprudently” implementing the anti-dengue vaccination program.
They said the purchase of the Dengvaxia vaccine was approved by Aquino and Abad even if the program had no allocation in the 2016 national budget.
1 comment
Arrest them all!!!