GORDON GLAD THAT COMMITTEE REPORT ON DENGVAXIA PROBE COULD NOW GO THROUGH PLENARY DEBATE

Senator Richard J. Gordon has expressed satisfaction that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's report on the Dengvaxia probe can now undergo plenary debate after more than majority of the committee's members signed the report.

Gordon also expressed gratitude to his colleagues who signed for paving the way for a plenary debate, which, he said, is where the report should be discussed and debated on.

"With fourteen senators signing the committee report, I am happy that it will be discussed on the floor finally where it should be discussed. I recognize that not all of my colleagues agree with the report but I am willing to debate and discuss it on the floor. And we can move forward by ensuring that something will be done for the people who were vaccinated and also seeing to it that accountability will be exacted to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future," he said.

One of the recommendations in the report was to provide sufficient budget for monitoring - in particular sero-testing to determine who were previously seronegative - diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of ALL children injected with Dengvaxia. It proposed to authorize the allocation of a portion of the P1.2-billion refunded by Sanofi Pasteur for unused vaccines for such.

"While I don't mean any ill to anyone, the purpose of the investigation was to find out the truth behind the incident which placed the lives of more than 830,000 children in danger. We want to seek justice for these children and protect them. The Department of Health, as the sentinel of public health, must not be used for political ends," the chairman of the Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee said.

Aside from Gordon, the other senators who signed the Dengvaxia report were Senators JV Ejercito, Vicente Sotto III, Gregorio Honasan, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Win Gatchalian, Grace Poe, Francis "Chiz" Escudero, Manny Pacquiao, Ralph Recto, Cynthia Villar and Loren Legarda. The investigation was conducted together with the Committees on Health and Demography and Finance.

Likewise, Gordon also extended his thanks to the members of the staff, who worked hard - spending long hours and late nights, to prepare and gather information about the controversy.

"I thank the staff for their hard work, naka-ilang hearings and ilang pages of transcript ang dinaanan ng investigation. Madalas ginugugol nila ang maghapon nila at madaling araw na umuwi to prepare. Because of their hard work I was able to arrive at the conclusion in the report that I stand behind fully," he said.

In the draft committee report, the Blue Ribbon found President Benigno Aquino III, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, PCMC Director Julius Lecciones and other officials of the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration liable for violating several sections of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and other laws in connection with the procurement and distribution of the Dengvaxia vaccine.