Lawmaker seeks P1-billion fund for Dengvaxia patients

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas asked Congress yesterday to create a P1-billion fund to help children inoculated with the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

In a resolution, Vargas said the money could be given to the Department of Health (DOH), which in turn could allocate it to government hospitals where the agency has set up a dengue vaccine desk to facilitate the treatment of children complaining of ailments arising from vaccination.

“We have to make sure that these children are safe and protected from any health-related incidents pertaining to the administration of the vaccine and we have to be prepared to provide all necessary treatment if needed for the children who may get sick after vaccination,” he said. 

He lamented that the Dengvaxia controversy “has caused not only panic and paranoia among the vaccinated children and their parents, but also mental and emotional trauma among the families of the children who have died.”     

“Because of this unfortunate incident there is an urgent need for the government to provide funding to finance the needed cure or medical care for the vaccinated children, as well as for counseling of the families of the deceased victims,” he said.

The DOH yesterday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with private and public hospital organizations and doctors’ groups to ensure adequate and quality services for Dengvaxia vaccinees. 

According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, the signing of the MOA is a result of the clamor of parents of the vaccinees during the agency’s visits to different schools and hospitals in Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon and Central Visayas. 

He said the MOA pertains to the “treatment and commitment of vaccinated patients in recognition of the situation caused by the Dengvaxia controversy and the anguish of their parents.”

Under the MOA, all Dengvaxia vaccinees shall be covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. Inc. under its No Balance Billing program, “particularly those in private confinement and under the care of private practitioners to relieve them of paying out-of-pocket expense.”

The accord was signed by Philippine Medical Association president Irineo Bernardo III; Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines Inc. president Rustico Jimenez; Philippine Hospitals Association of the Philippines president Huberto Lapuz and Association of Hospital Administrators Inc. president Epifania Simbul.

“The DOH recognizes the urgent need to take action to address the concerns of parents and allay their fears of not being promptly attended to by both government and private hospitals,” Duque added. 

To clear up the confusion caused by separate investigations by three agencies, lawmakers have urged President Duterte to create a single probe team composed of prosecutors from the Department of Justice and expert doctors and pathologists from the DOH and government hospitals.

“There is so much confusion and hysteria over Dengvaxia and the vaccination program. Many parents are so afraid of the dengue vaccine that they ask their children to stay away from any vaccination,” Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano lll said.

He said only the President’s intervention could force the DOH, Department of Justice and Public Attorney’s Office to work together and come up with a single report.

Albano noted that during last week’s House good government committee hearings on the vaccination mess, PAO chief Persida Acosta declined a request for her agency to provide the DOH with sample tissues her forensic investigators had taken from children whose remains they exhumed.

“They (DOH) should exhume the dead again,” she said.

Rep. Gary Alejano urged Duterte “to provide leadership and conciliate the quarrelling agencies.”

“The administration should come up with common and united efforts to investigate the Dengvaxia issue,” he said.

He lamented that at present, there is “no coordinated effort on the part of the government to find out the truth and provide the people accurate information.”

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay blamed PAO for the prevailing hysteria.

He said many parents are now so afraid of vaccination that they don’t want their children to be dewormed. 

Muntinlupa Rep. Ruffy Biazon said PAO has so “riled up emotions” that children and adults flock to dengue vaccine help desks in government hospitals even for ailments not related to vaccination.

The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has cautioned the DOH from releasing the list of students and other individuals who received the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

In an advisory opinion sent to Duque, Privacy Commissioner Raymund Liboro advised the DOH against granting the request of the PAO and other private organizations to access the masterlist of those vaccinated by Dengvaxia.

“It is important to establish that the personal information sought to be collected by PAO, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and the media is considered as sensitive personal information… particularly those relating to the individual’s age, health and health record (vaccination card and status of being vaccinated),” said Liboro.

“The information also relates to a vulnerable group of data subjects – minors,” he added.

Liboro said information provided to government or public authority may be processed without consent only if it is done pursuant to a particular agency’s constitutional or statutory mandate.

He noted that PAO’s mandate is primarily to extend free legal assistance to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative and other quasi-judicial cases, hence it could only get access to such data if it receives consent from the subjects.

“Should the PAO be authorized as the legal representative of the minor data subjects, they may then be provided information on the particular data subject they are representing, subject to the presentation of proof of such authorization,” said the privacy commissioner. – Sheila Crisostomo, Janvic Mateo