The Senate has yet to decide whether to summon former President Benigno Aquino III to an inquiry into the dengue vaccine fiasco, but Sen. JV Ejercito already wants him to explain his role in the government’s acquisition of the vaccine from the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur. Ejercito particularly wants Aquino to speak about his two reported meetings with officials of Sanofi before the government agreed to buy supplies of Dengvaxia vaccine worth P3.5 billion in 2015. We can’t help but think why prior to the procurement, there were two meetings [between the former President and Sanofi officials]. But last week, Sanofi announced that Dengvaxia could worsen dengue symptoms for vaccinated people who had not been infected before. Told that the spokespersons for Aquino had said that Malacañang had never kept Aquino’s meetings with Sanofi officials a secret, Ejercito said the meetings happened “prior to the decision to procure” the vaccines.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer December 07, 2017 22:07 UTC