MANILA – Former president Benigno Aquino III and former Health secretary Janette Garin were facing another complaint before the Department of Justice in connection with the controversial dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.
Subic, Zambales resident Rowena Villegas lodged the charges on Monday in connection with the death of 11-year-old son Michael Tablate on Oct. 31 last year after receiving doses of Dengvaxia.
Among the charges were reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and violation of the law against torture, with an added accusation of liability for defective products and mislabeled drugs and devices as provided for by the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
Thirty-seven others, including directors and officers of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur and local distributor Zuellig Pharma, have been charged as well.
In her complaint Villegas said her son, a healthy boy save for the occasional asthma attack, suffered more frequent bouts of the lung condition after receiving three doses of Dengvaxia administered between March 2016 and July last year.
On Oct. 30 last year Villegas said the boy was rushed to an Olongapo hospital after experiencing difficulty in breathing and weakening. He was pronounced “dead on arrival” but was revived only to die the next day.
Autopsy results showed the boy sustained bleeding of internal organs, extensive and severe hemorrhage of the brain, and enlargement of the organs – similar signs found in 66 others – according to Public Attorney’s Office forensic expert Dr. Erwin Erfe.
This was the 11th complaint filed against Aquino and other respondents over the P3-billion mass vaccination project that used Dengvaxia, which the Health department later stopped. Others were filed at the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Elections./PN
