Ubial set to file counter-affidavit Friday
Published Nov 14, 2018 07:42 am
By Jeffrey Damicog
Former Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial is set to file her counter-affidavit this Friday in response to the complaint filed against her concerning her liability in the deaths of children who received shots of the Dengvaxia anti-dengue vaccine.
Health Secretary Pauline Jean Ubial (Photo courtesy of alamy.com | Manila Bulletin)
Assistant State Prosecutor Claire Eufracia Pagayanan set the date after Ubial failed to file her counter-affidavit last Oct. 22.
Pagayanan has already begun conducting the preliminary investigation of the complaint by former Health Secretary Janette Garin who filed it before the Department of Justice (DOJ) last September.
Under the complaint, Ubial is accused of committing reckless imprudence resulting to homicide under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
“From the forgoing, it is clear that Sec. Ubial’s reckless implementation of the Community-Based Dengue Immunization Program was the only possible cause of the reported deaths,” read Garin’s complaint-affidavit.
When she was health secretary, Garin cited that the Department of Health (DOH) implemented a school-based dengue immunization program. However, she lamented that the dengue immunization program took a drastic turn when Ubial took over.
“Instead of the limited school-based program that I initially implemented, Sec. Ubial expanded the dengue immunization program to community-based. Sec. Ubial likewise expanded the coverage of the immunization program to persons between nine (9) to sixty (60) years old, from the original limited scope of only ‘Grade 4 pupils (school year 2015 – 2016) aged 9 years and older enrolled in public schools in Regions III, IV-A, and NCR’,” Garin cited.
“Deaths were reported soon after the implementation of Sec. Ubial’s community-based dengue immunization program. It must be emphasized that the deaths started during Sec. Ubial’s term as DOH secretary and afterwards,” Garin stressed.
Garin pointed out that the DOH prefers the school-based dengue immunization program “because the physical and organizational structure of such a program is already in place considering that Dengvaxia is already the sixth (6th) vaccine introduced in schools.”
“School-based vaccination likewise avoids politicizing immunization. In my experience community-based vaccination is more prone to abuse as it can be accessed by people who can actually afford the vaccine but unjustifiably avail of the free vaccines from the health centers.
“Community-based is likewise prone to abuse by local politicians who use it as a political tool to facilitate access to free vaccines for their constituents who are unqualified,” she added.
Garin herself is facing criminal complaints before the DOJ over the deaths of persons including schoolchildren who received Dengvaxia.
Health Secretary Pauline Jean Ubial (Photo courtesy of alamy.com | Manila Bulletin)
Assistant State Prosecutor Claire Eufracia Pagayanan set the date after Ubial failed to file her counter-affidavit last Oct. 22.
Pagayanan has already begun conducting the preliminary investigation of the complaint by former Health Secretary Janette Garin who filed it before the Department of Justice (DOJ) last September.
Under the complaint, Ubial is accused of committing reckless imprudence resulting to homicide under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
“From the forgoing, it is clear that Sec. Ubial’s reckless implementation of the Community-Based Dengue Immunization Program was the only possible cause of the reported deaths,” read Garin’s complaint-affidavit.
When she was health secretary, Garin cited that the Department of Health (DOH) implemented a school-based dengue immunization program. However, she lamented that the dengue immunization program took a drastic turn when Ubial took over.
“Instead of the limited school-based program that I initially implemented, Sec. Ubial expanded the dengue immunization program to community-based. Sec. Ubial likewise expanded the coverage of the immunization program to persons between nine (9) to sixty (60) years old, from the original limited scope of only ‘Grade 4 pupils (school year 2015 – 2016) aged 9 years and older enrolled in public schools in Regions III, IV-A, and NCR’,” Garin cited.
“Deaths were reported soon after the implementation of Sec. Ubial’s community-based dengue immunization program. It must be emphasized that the deaths started during Sec. Ubial’s term as DOH secretary and afterwards,” Garin stressed.
Garin pointed out that the DOH prefers the school-based dengue immunization program “because the physical and organizational structure of such a program is already in place considering that Dengvaxia is already the sixth (6th) vaccine introduced in schools.”
“School-based vaccination likewise avoids politicizing immunization. In my experience community-based vaccination is more prone to abuse as it can be accessed by people who can actually afford the vaccine but unjustifiably avail of the free vaccines from the health centers.
“Community-based is likewise prone to abuse by local politicians who use it as a political tool to facilitate access to free vaccines for their constituents who are unqualified,” she added.
Garin herself is facing criminal complaints before the DOJ over the deaths of persons including schoolchildren who received Dengvaxia.