MANILA, Philippines — A second criminal complaint was filed on Friday against former President Benigno Aquino III before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.
Gabriela party-list representatives Emerenciana “Emmi” de Jesus and Arlene Brosas charged Aquino with violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Earlier in the day, the two complainants also filed a petition for mandamus before the Supreme Court to compel the government to provide free consultations and medical services to children who were injected with the vaccine produced by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur.
After six years of studying clinical data, Sanofi last month said it had found that Dengvaxia was only beneficial in the prevention of dengue fever among those who had already suffered from the mosquito-born disease.
Recently, former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief and erstwhile Iloilo representative Augusto Syjuco, Jr. also charged Aquino and former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janet Garin for mass murder and plunder over the Dengvaxia mess.
The DOH ordered the suspension of the goverment’s dengue immunization program. Also, the Food and Drug Administration ordered Sanofi to stop the sale, distribution, and marketing of Dengvaxia.
