“Life is not an experiment. Life is not trial and error,” Santos said.
He lamented that more tan 800,000 children were endangered because of the negligence and irresponsibility of government officials.
The Department of Health claimed that 830,000 children were inoculated with Dengvaxia since 2016.
Santos said thousands of families in his diocese were also affected by the vaccine controversy.
The Senate will resume its inquiry into the vaccine controversy today, with former president Benigno Aquino 3rd possibly in attendance.
Aquino confirmed on Wednesday that he received the invitation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Senator Richard Gordon, to attend the inquiry on the vaccine mess.
Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino 4th said the former president will be present in today’s public hearing.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto 3rd stressed the need for a mechanism that will shield the country’s Food and Drug Administration from being “corrupted” by giant pharmaceutical companies.
“People’s lives are at stake here. It’s always better to err on the side of caution. Let the axe fall on whoever is responsible. Someone needs to take responsibility on this,” he said.
“In the case of the P3.5bn dengue vaccine, the role played by the FDA in allowing the use of the dengue vaccine should be exacted with appropriate sanctions,” Sotto said.
Sanofi Pasteur on Wednesday maintained that that it followed Philippine regulatory procedures when it entered into an agreement with the Department of Health to supply the agency with Dengvaxia.
“Sanofi Pasteur, being a multinational company is bound by rules on transparency and anti-corruption.
Likewise, Sanofi Pasteur wants to assure Filipinos that dengvaxia is safe especially those who intend to protect themselves from another attack of dengue.
Its efficacy has been proven in clinical trials and even Philippine medical experts attest to its effectiveness,” it said in a statement.
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