Former health secretary and now Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Loreto-Garin and four others have been charged with graft and technical malversation before the Sandiganbayan for their reported involvement in the alleged irregular procurement of Dengvaxia vaccines in 2015.
Aside from Garin, also charged with graft were officer-in-charge director Maria Joyce U. Ducusin, Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo, former undersecretary Kenneth Y. Hartigan-Go, and Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC) Executive Director Julius Lecciones.
Garin, Ducusin, Hartigan-Go, and Lecciones are also charged with a violation of Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code on technical malversation.
In the graft case filed on Oct. 24, the five accused were charged with conspiring with one another in causing "the realignment of government fund and issuance of Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) No. BMB-150028814 on Dec. 29, 2015 in the amount of P3,556,155,900 for the procurement of Dengvaxia vaccines and eventual implementation of the School-Based Immunization Program."
Prosecutors said that their actions were "in open defiance of the mandate of Executive Order No. 49, series of 1993, DOH Administrative Order Nos. 2012-0023, 2012-0023-A and other related issuances to the damage and prejudice of the government."
Meanwhile, the prosecutors accused them for sourcing the fund from the DOH's Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in their technical malversation charge.
The prosecutors alleged that "the said amount was instead used to purchase Dengvaxia vaccines which is not part of the EPI and not listed in Volume 1 of the Philippine National Drug Formulary or has secured an exemption from being listed in said Formulary."
Bail of P90,000 was recommended for each of the accused facing graft charge and P18,000 for each of those charged with technical malversation. The cases are set for raffle on Friday, Oct. 27 to determine which of the Sandiganbayan divisions will handle the cases.
In a statement, Garin said she is relieved that the case has finally reached the anti-graft court. "Bringing it to court will be the best recourse to once and for all put an end to this issue. Our conscience is clear. No corruption. Decisions and actions were all science-based. Best to present evidences in court," she said.
Garin further defended their decision to procure the Dengvaxia vaccines. She said: "Globally, the Philippines got the cheapest price. The whole world is continuously using the vaccine. It’s listed in WHO’s EML or Essential Medicines List which means all countries are mandated to make it available to its people at all times. The nuance between pro-vaccine and anti-vaxxers is part of the challenges of doctors and vaccinologists like us. It’s a risk we take as part of our job to save lives thru vaccination."
She also said that anti-vaxxers, which is a term used for those opposed to the use of vaccines, such as DOH program manager Dr. Clarito Cairo Jr. and former DOH special adviser Dr. Tony Leachon, have "concocted" the story that the funds used for the dengue vaccines were supposed to be used for other purposes.
"The SARO is very clear. It's a dengue vaccine for Regions 3, 4A, and National Capital Region. We just followed [the] Department of Budget and Management (DBM) [and] issued SARO. Hence, better to present sa court para matapos na din (in court so that it'll be finished once and for all)," she added.