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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Garin offers to make peace with Acosta 

Garin offers to make peace with Acosta 

Published Dec 18, 2019 12:00 am
By Ellson Quismorio Senior Deputy Minority Leader, Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin on Wednesday extended her hand in reconciliation to her nemeses Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta and PAO forensics head Dr. Erwin Efre. Congresswoman Janette Loreto-Garin of the 1st district of Iloilo province. (Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN) Congresswoman Janette Loreto-Garin of the 1st district of Iloilo province. (Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN) Garin, who served as Department of Health (DOH) secretary during President Benigno S. Aquino III's administration, said she made the gesture "in the spirit of Christmas." “For that, please allow me to extend my hands for reconciliation Percida Acosta, Dr. Efre. Alam ko po na hindi kami nagkakasundo dahil kami ay sumasandal sa siyensa, sila naman ay iba ang kanilang sinasandalan (I know that we don't see eye to eye because while we rely on science, they rely on something else)," she said during the Minority Bloc's weekly press conference. Acosta has been a vocal critic of the previous administration's mass inoculation campaign which used the controversial vaccine Dengvaxia as a way to put dengue fever cases in check. Manufactured by French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi Pasteur, the drug was administered to an estimated 900,000 school children before the mass vaccination effort was suspended by the current Duterte administration. The suspension resulted from Sanofi's own admission in November 2017 that Dengvaxia could be harmful for "seronegative" children, or those who have never contracted dengue before but were given Dengvaxia shots anyway. Over 100 vaccinees have reportedly died. Sincere  Acosta has been a prolific filer of charges against Garin and her ex-colleagues from the DOH. The charges were filed on behalf of the kin of the child-vaccinees who have died. The lady lawmaker insisted that her gesture of reconciliation was "sincere." This notwithstanding, she has consistently argued that the vaccinees' deaths can't conclusively attributed to Dengvaxia. “But end of the day, peace on earth. We all have to think that we all have one direction and that is to produce a healthy community and to produce things that will benefit the future generation especially our children,” Garin said. There are around 60 cases filed by PAO before the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with the Dengvaxia mess.
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