Dengvaxia blunder: political consideration over sound science

The Aquino administration and the Department of Health maneuvered a P3.5 billion budget for a vaccine that now put 700,000 Filipino children at greater health risk. The decision of the authorities to procure, approve its commercial release, and implement the mass vaccination using Dengvaxia, all in haste,   was based on political consideration and not on sound science.

Gabriela organization member holds a placard in a protest action in front of the Department of Health.

Health groups and local experts have adamantly questioned all these beforehand but have fallen to deaf ears. A year after implementation, clinical trial results revealed that Dengvaxia causes severe dengue fever to those who have not contracted dengue before.

 The Aquino administration, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, DOH, and Sanofi must be held accountable for this deception. DOH must also address the fears that this blunder have unleashed. How should the vaccinated children be protected from now on? What measures will be done to monitor those at risk and provide them with the means of proper healthcare to mitigate the risks?

Protesters, whose children were vaccinated with Dengvaxia, burn an immage of former president Benigno Aquino at the gates of the Department of Health.

The general notion that vaccines are meant to protect a person from infection has been marred with this withheld information on Dengvaxia that there is greater health risk for a segment of the target population. Sanofi now tries to console the public saying that around 80% to 90% of us may have had dengue and we were just not aware! Now it is everybody's guessing game, with thousands of Filipino children systematically put in harm's way.

To the parents and children: Do not panic! Ok lang magalit. Ask for explanations! Monitor the health advisories, and consult accordingly. Exercise your right to information and healthcare. Immunizations generally remain to be an important tool for prevention. Service and patient safety must guide the discovery and eventual use of new vaccines, not politics and profit motives. The Aquino administration, former health secretary Garin, and the institutions involved must be held accountable.##

Nothing revolutionary in Duterte's RevGov

Picture this: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, together with former presidents Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (and her cronies and generals), Joseph Ejercito Estrada (with his own set of cronies), Imelda and Bongbong Marcos, and Aquino-allied oligarchs and cronies. This is Duterte's "Revolutionary Government," and at one glance, there's nothing revolutionary about it.

There is nothing revolutionary in a government who cradles people who have been rejected by the masses. Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was under hospital arrest for rigging the elections and corruption charges, but now miraculously healed after Duterte released her. Erap was impeached due to plunder and perjury; his son Jinggoy now also walks free from the same charges as his father. The Marcoses whose corrupt dictatorship was toppled by the people are now vying for top positions of power.

 

A protester holds a placard during the November 30, Bonifacio day protest against Duterte's fascism and RevGov along Recto avenue.

There is nothing revolutionary in a government that chose war and conflict, throwing away peaceful and substantial solutions for genuine change, and that which will address the roots of armed conflict. Duterte cancelled the peace talks after meeting with United States president Donald Trump. Common drafts for agrarian reform and national industrialization are ready for signing by the peace panels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front. Duterte tossed these aside and declared war against the revolutionary armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the New People's Army.

There's nothing revolutionary in a government that attacks and kills the people it vowed to serve, while failing to deliver promises. Attacks on human rights groups have increased after Duterte declared a "crackdown" on activists and organizations pushing for legitimate demands and changes. The president also plans to re-instill Oplan Tokhang even after the same campaign led to 13,000 people killed in just a year. Duterte's fascism only paves the way for his dictatorship.

There's nothing revolutionary in a government who favors capitalist and imperialist interests over developing our own local industries. With economic policies leaning towards loosening trade restrictions and increasing foreign ownership, plunder of our resources is imminent. Farmers will have lesser lands to till, while wages will remain low under dire working conditions to maintain the steady flow of income for these foreign investors. Duterte advocates increasing foreign investment and ownership, literally selling out the Philippines, a far-cry from his "independent foreign policy."

A true revolutionary government is one that is supported by the masses, of farmers and workers, by people who believe that change is not in the hands of a single person, but on the collective action of the masses.

The fascist US-Duterte regime is a fool to think that it can silence the woke masses through attacks and killings. It is a greater fool to think that a fascist dictatorship shall flourish while poverty and the roots of armed conflict are never addressed. The people's resistance against fascism will only strengthen under repression. With this, Health Alliance for Democracy stands with the Filipino people together with various organizations from a multitude of sectors in rejecting Duterte's fascist rule. No to fascism. No to imperialism. Never again to dictatorship!##

Duterte, a war monster – Health group

Almost immediately after President Duterte's official cancellation of the peace talks, his military has announced intensified and focused military operations against the New People's Army. The Armed Forces of the Philippines aggression will make deaths, human rights violations, displacements and illnesses of civilians a certainty that will burst whatever Christmas spirit people hold on to in this crisis-laden year. 

An effigy of President Duterte with US President Trump on his back at the November 30, Bonifacio day protest against Duterte's fascism and RevGov.

Duterte officially canceled the peace talks on November 24, despite the supposed talks in Norway set at November 25 to 27. Common drafts on agrarian reform and national industrialization are already up for signing: these could have addressed the roots of armed conflict and lead to a just and lasting peace.

Duterte has also declared war against what he called "terrorists," ordering a crackdown on "reds" and "leftist fronts." These labels however can be applied to anyone, much like the "drug addict" label of his war on drugs, which had left 13,000 people killed in a year. Similarly, former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's counter-terror policies implemented then by General Hermogenes Esperon (now a cabinet member of Duterte) left a bloody record of tortured, missing, and dead activists and human rights defenders (120 extra-judicial killings a year). Duterte is set to beef up his disastrous human rights record.

Fascism worsens by the minute under the US-Duterte regime. In the face of a fascist dictatorship, the people have no other choice but to resist (a healthy choice in an ailing system). Health Alliance for Democracy (HEAD) is an organization composed of health professionals, health workers, health science students, and health advocates in the Philippines and abroad.##