Families claim Dengvaxia deaths

MANILA, Philippines — Parents of two schoolchildren who allegedly died due to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia yesterday surfaced at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to demand accountability for their loss.

Department of Health officials, however, stressed that there has been no confirmed death in the country from Dengvaxia.

Assisted by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), the parents of Christine Mae de Guzman and Anjielica Pestilos faced the media and detailed how the two girls – both 10 years old – died months after being injected with the anti-dengue vaccine.

De Guzman’s father Nelson submitted a sworn affidavit that would be used in pursuing cases against those liable for the P3.5-billion immunization program.

He recalled that Christine Mae received Dengvaxia vaccine on April 16, 2016 through a school vaccination project at Sisiman Elementary School in Mariveles, Bataan.

“While we were being asked for information, we were told that we should be thankful to the government because the anti-dengue vaccine is free. If we would get it from private hospitals, it would cost around P4,500 to P5,000,” Nelson’s affidavit read.

Almost six months later, on Oct. 11, 2016, Christine Mae complained of headache and had high fever. After two days, she was taken to the Mariveles Health Service Cooperative Hospital where she was diagnosed with severe dengue. 

The girl, who would have been 12 years old yesterday, died on Oct. 15, 2016.

Pestilos’ parents Ramil and Liza, on the other hand, said Anjielica died last Dec. 15, three months after receiving the vaccine also through an anti-vaccination program in school last September.

While her death certificate indicated that she died of systemic lupus erythematosus or an autoimmune disease, PAO forensic expert Erwin Erfe believes that it was also a case of death by severe dengue.

“When we reviewed her clinical abstract, there is a manifestation that Anjielica died of severe hemorrhagic dengue,” Erfe explained, citing symptoms of the disease like edema, rashes, bleeding and low platelet count.

Both girls did not have dengue prior to immunization.

“In both cases, the victims never suffered previous dengue exposure before, were both vaccinated with Dengvaxia and have died from severe dengue,” Erfe pointed out.  

Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III said yesterday his department had not received any report of a confirmed death from Dengvaxia.

“We are now closely monitoring this and any possible case will have to be investigated,” Duque said.

PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta said they would provide legal assistance to the two families as the agency plans to gather information on similar cases and file a class suit against those liable for the vaccine controversy.

VACC founding chair Dante Jimenez, for his part, revealed that they would also file a string of criminal cases against officials of the previous administration.

2 dengue cases in Pampanga?

In Mabalacat City, Pampanga, Mayor Cris Garbo yesterday ordered officials to look into reports that two of nine pupils who were given their third dose of Dengvaxia a few months ago actually suffered from a bout of dengue.

“I have asked our district health office to get in touch with the doctors of the two students who have been absent from their classes for about two weeks and reported later that their doctors confirmed their ailment as dengue,” Garbo told The STAR.

Nine Grade 6 pupils who had fallen ill simultaneously at the city’s Lakandula Elementary School have recovered and started attending classes this week, but two of them had suffered from dengue, according to their doctors.

The two were identified by a school official as Cirila Tagle and Kristine Regala. Their teacher said they had been absent from classes for about two weeks.

The two girls could not be immediately contacted yesterday for the identities of their physicians.

Garbo commended their teachers for their transparency about the cases, as he pointed out the need for the Department of Health to “have a clearer picture of the situation and adopt a corresponding response.”

PAO tapped to assist Dengvaxia victims

The DOJ has tapped the PAO to provide legal assistance to victims of deaths and severe illnesses stemming from the public immunization of Dengvaxia.

In Department Order No. 792 released yesterday, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II has given the PAO the authority to “represent possible victims of Dengxavia-related injuries, illnesses and deaths.”

“In the interest of the service and pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 9406 and its implementing rules and regulations, the Public Attorney’s Office is hereby authorized and directed to extend free legal assistance in civil, criminal and administrative cases to all possible victims of Dengvaxia-related injuries, illnesses and deaths,” the order read.

In a press conference, Acosta revealed that she has tapped a team of PAO lawyers to gather statements and documentary evidence from parents and guardians of children who developed severe dengue after getting the Dengvaxia vaccine.

She further bared that several parents from Bataan and Quezon City as well as Cordillera Administrative Region and Region 7 have already reached out to her office.

Acosta, however, said she could still not say which charges could be filed against officials or personalities.

“We just started building up cases and gathering evidence. We haven’t finalized yet what charges could be filed against whom. But we’re looking at possible criminal, civil and administrative cases,” she explained.

Asked if high officials of the previous administration could be held liable for the vaccine mess, Acosta replied without naming names: “When it comes to command responsibility, it cannot be erased by good faith.”

In the same press conference, lawyer Ferdinand Topacio of the VACC had a more definitive response to the issue.

“We believe there is a case for plunder here,” he stressed, citing evidence that have already cropped up in the Senate inquiry. 

‘No dengue vaccine procurement in 2018’

Meanwhile, the newly signed 2018 budget law prohibits the DOH from procuring dengue vaccine next year, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said yesterday.

He said the DOH is barred from using any part of its P107.3-billion budget for next year to buy dengue vaccine “until we clear the air on the controversy.”

The DOH, under its former secretary Janette Garin, purchased P35 billion worth of the newly developed vaccine Dengvaxia from French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi. – Sheila Crisostomo, Ding Cervantes, Jess Diaz