Duterte to discuss suspected Dengvaxia deaths with Aguirre, Acosta

Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Public Attorney's Office chief Persida Acosta will meet with President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday afternoon "to further discuss" the autopsies conducted on children whose deaths are feared to be linked to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.

Aguirre told reporters on Wednesday that newly-appointed Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission head Dante Jimenez will also attend the meeting, but will represent the group Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption since he has not yet taken his oath of office.

The meeting, also to be attended by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, will be held at 3 p.m., he said.

Aguirre said he will "emphasize" in the meeting the need for an expert on clinical pathology to establish a link between the deaths and the French-made vaccine, since it now appears that PAO forensics chief Erwin Erfe is "only a medico-legal officer."

"Ang kanyang opinion, if ever he already made such an opinion — that these deaths are caused by Dengvaxia — did not come from an expert opinion," Aguirre said at a press conference.

He added that Health Secretary Francisco Duque III had told him that there is "no prohibition" for the bodies to be re-examined by an "expert" clinical pathologist. 

The Justice chief said the autopsies carried out by PAO will continue until Malacañang and the Department of Justice decide otherwise. Last Monday, he said he has not issued any stop order despite a call by a group of doctors and experts.

"I see no reason why it should be stopped, that it should cease at this time because you could not determine the cause of the death of these people unless you've exhumed and autopsied these remains," Aguirre said.

He said there was a "defect" in the study undertaken by a panel of experts from the University of the Philippines - Philippine General Hospital, which found that Dengvaxia did not directly cause the deaths of three of the 14 children examined who succumbed to the mosquito-borne infection.

"Meron po tayong legal or logical truism na the cause of the cause is the cause of the final effect, sa logic po natin, Logic 1 and 2 ang ibig sabihin po niyan, Latin, cause causea est causa causati so tuloy-tuloy po tayo kasi talagang malaki ang dapat i-prove," he said.

More, he said the PGH experts were able to make an opinion "despite the fact na wala silang nakita kahit isang tissue sample."

More than 830,000 children received at least one dose of Dengvaxia as part of the government's dengue immunization program.  —KBK, GMA News