DOH chief to consult Duterte over Acosta’s Dengvaxia ‘circus’

MANILA, Philippines — Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will consult with President Duterte on the “course of action” to take against Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Acosta, who he said has made a “circus” out of the Dengvaxia issue.

In a phone interview, Duque said he hopes to get the opinion of the President on how to deal with Acosta, whom he accused of distorting facts concerning the controversial anti-dengue vaccine.          

“It’s really embarrassing that we are both in government and yet we are fighting. Attorney Acosta knew the situation and even at the Senate, my name never came out (as involved),” he noted.

Duque added he was surprised that PAO would “go to such lengths” as suing him for obstruction of justice when it knew it could easily apply for subpoena to get the dengue vaccine master list.

He added the Department of Health (DOH) had submitted the master list to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon after receiving a subpoena. “It’s a legal requirement I am sure she is aware of,” Duque said.

“As a lawyer, she knows she can get the master list if she applied for a subpoena from a competent authority. She could easily get it from the DOJ or the NBI,” he pointed out, referring to the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation.

Yet, “PAO decided to make a circus out of the situation by dragging mourning parents to court and filing baseless charges,” he said.

The health chief added the DOH had previously informed PAO that it could not share the vaccinees’ information without a subpoena because of provisions in the Data Privacy Act.