House Appropriations Committee Chairperson Rep. Karlo “Ang Probinsyano” Nograles on Sunday called on fellow legislators to help assuage the fears of parents of children administered with the controversial Dengvaxia dengue vaccine by adopting the House of Representatives’ version of the P1.161 billion supplemental budget for the more than 800,000 schoolchildren who have been given the anti-dengue vaccine in 2016.
Nograles said the House version is “more responsive to the needs of the children vaccinated with Dengvaxia.”
Nograles revealed that he met with the parents who were given the Dengvaxia vaccine on Saturday in Quezon City to update them on the latest developments on the supplemental budget bill, which parents are hoping would allow them to obtain medical care for their children, should they get sick.
“If we adopt the Senate version that says the beneficiaries should be children with dengue, then if doctors later learn that the child of Rachel is not suffering from dengue but another illness, Rachel’s child will be ineligible for government support.”
Rachel Abian, a single mother whose child was given Dengvaxia in June 2016, said she recently had her son admitted in a private hospital after he displayed symptoms of dengue, and was initially confident about receiving financial support from the government after she learned that the Senate had passed its version of the supplemental budget bill.
“Currently po, nakaadmit po ang anak ko sa private hospital po. Kaya po ako naging matapang kahapon na itakbo ang anak ko sa private hospital dahil inaakala ko na naipasa na ang supplemental (budget), at meron na kaming aasahang budget,” said Abian, a mother of three.
“Pero dahil sa nangyaring usapan na parang tila hinaharang ito ng Senado nagkakaroon po ako ng sarili kong agam-agam paano ko ilalabas ang anak ko sa malaking halaga na ibibigay ng bill ng hospital kung ako’y isang single parent lang po,” lamented Abian.
Nograles said that Abian’s concerns were valid given the crucial difference between the Senate and House versions of the supplemental budget bill.
According to the solon from Davao, the Senate version indicates that beneficiaries of the supplemental budget would be “dengue patients, while the House version identifies the beneficiaries of the supplemental budget as “dengvaxia vaccinees,” a distinction that would be problematic for parents like Abian.
“The Senate version indicates that beneficiaries of the supplemental budget would be dengue patients, while the House version identifies the beneficiaries of the supplemental budget as dengvaxia vaccines.”
“If we adopt the Senate version that says the beneficiaries should be children with dengue, then if doctors later learn that the child of Rachel is not suffering from dengue but another illness, Rachel’s child will be ineligible for government support,” explained Nograles.
“This is unfair to her child, and the other children who received Dengvaxia, because they are forced to take precautions like going to hospitals and clinics at the onset of any illness only because they were vaccinated. Di naman tama yan, we have an obligation to these kids,” stressed Nograles.
To avoid situations like these, Nograles called on his colleagues in the bicameral committee to consider the sentiments of families dealing with the Dengvaxia debacle and adopt the House version of the supplemental budget measure—a sentiment echoed by Abian.
“Kaya kumakatok po ako talaga po sa lahat po ng nasa likod ng pagpasa ng budget na ito, tulungan niyo po ang mga bata. Hindi lang po isang bata po kundi napakaraming bata po na hindi pa alam ng mga magulang kung saan sila kukuha ng tulong,” said Abian.
