MANILA — The House committee on Good Government and Public Accountability has invited former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III to its next hearing on the controversial anti-dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia.
Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza raised the motion on Wednesday after the committee chaired by Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel suspended its probe on the anomalous lease agreement between the government and the Tagum Agricultural Development Corporation (TADECO).
Under Aquino’s administration, the Philippines became the first country in the world to launch a public inoculation plan against dengue in April 2016.
The DOH has since suspended the anti-dengue immunization drive, after pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur conceded that Dengvaxia could worsen symptoms for vaccinated children who contracted the disease for the first time.
More than 700,000 Filipino school children had already received their Dengvaxia shots by the time the DOH suspended the immunization drive.
On Monday, former Health Secretary Janette Garin and incumbent Health Secretary Francisco Duque attended the Dengvaxia hearing spearheaded by Pimentel’s committee. (PNA)
