Ex-DOH chief Garin ready to face raps over Dengvaxia issue

Former Health Secretary Janette Garin on Monday said that she is ready to face any charges filed against her over the implementation of the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia as she insisted that her "conscience is clear."

In an interview on ANC, Garin said that it will be "better" that discussions in relation to the Dengvaxia issue be done in court since it will "takeaway the discussions on media" and "avoid all hysteria [and] panic."

"I'm ready to face all charges because my conscience is clear. The desire to be with the Department of Health, to be with the medical society in saving lives was our primary consideration because vaccines still saves lives and dengue has no cure," she said.

"With that, I'm really looking forward to facing all of these charges in court because I am sure that at the end of the day I will be vindicated, the DOH (Department of Health) officials will be vindicated because we did something that will actually save 90 percent of Filipino  children," she added.

Garin along with French pharmaceutical Sanofi Pasteur and its distributor Zuellig Pharma were slapped with a P4.2-million civil suit by the Public Attorney's Office (PAO).

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and Dr. Francis Cruz, a former consultant of DOH, had also filed a complaint with the Commission on Elections Legal Department, accusing Garin, former president Benigno Aquino III, former Budget secretary Florencio Abad, and several DOH officials of violating Section 261 (o) and (v) of Batas Pambansa 881 (Omnibus Election Code).

Garin was mobbed by a group of mothers, asking for accountability and "medical intervention" for their children who were administered with Dengvaxia after the hearing of the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

The former health chief said that "hysteria and panic prevailed" among the parents as "non-experts were coming out pretending to be experts."

"They were asking for sobriety but then they were just making all the drama, and I'm sorry to say this. Sinabi ng PAO na 'pumunta kami dito and sugurin ka' and why is all of this happening? why are we deviating the issue to the fact that we have to deal with Sanofi, we have to deal with the vaccine, we have to hear from the World Health Organization, we have to know what to do and we have to tell the parents the truth," Garin said.

At least 830,000 public school students have been vaccinated with Dengvaxia in Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Metro Manila, and Cebu according to DOH.

The vaccination program of the DOH began in April 2016, initially targeting a million children. It was supposed to be given in three doses spaced six months apart.

It was, however, put on hold in December last year following Sanofi Pasteur's advisory that Dengvaxia should not be given to patients who have not had dengue in the past as it may cause severe diseases in the long run. — MDM, GMA News