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 The campaign was started by Duterte's predecessor, Benigno Aquino,
who approved the use of 3.5 billion pesos ($69 million) in savings
in 2016 to buy millions of doses of Dengvaxia, the world's first
approved vaccine against the mosquito-borne virus.
The campaign was halted on Dec. 1, after the vaccine maker, French
drug firm Sanofi, said Dengvaxia's use was to be strictly limited
due to evidence it could worsen the disease in people who had not
previously been exposed to the virus.
A criminal investigation has been launched to determine how the
danger to public health came about and two Congressional inquiries
have begun in the Philippines.
"It is good faith. If you really think in good faith that you are
doing the right thing, nobody, but nobody, can question you, except
your conscience," Duterte told reporters, adding that he too would
have opted for immunization since clinical studies at the time
showed the vaccine would save lives.
"I am not prepared to pass judgment. I can only inquire and hope
that everything will give us the truth," he added, saying he did not
think Sanofi would do something to tarnish its reputation.
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Dengue is not as serious as malaria, but it kills about 20,000
people and infects hundreds of millions worldwide, with 200,000
cases reported on average in the Philippines each year.
Dengvaxia won its first market approval in Mexico in Dec. 2015.
Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the senate investigation panel,
believes approval and procurement for the program went through with
"undue haste", given how quickly the department of health (DOH)
received funding for the campaign.
Gordon has asked Aquino to attend the senate inquiry, which will
resume on Thursday.
(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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