Why is President Duterte so silent on Dengvaxia? Find out why

President Rodrigo Duterte and Dengvaxia Vaccine, photo compiled from Google

Malou Tiquia, a prominent lobbyist and political analyst in her Facebook account questioned the apparent silence of President Rodrigo Duterte on the issue of Dengvaxia, and netizens have their answers.

Tiquia asked why the President has no given no word on the infamous Dengue vaccine which was administered to 733,000 school children under the President Benigno Aquino III administration, only to turn out as actually dangerous and could worsen the symptoms of people who have yet to contract Dengue when injected.



The news which broke out days ago, has been the subject of several headlines, yet there remains to be a comment from the Chief Executive.

"Why is PRRD so silent on #Dengevaxia? He tells everyone that “if you destroy my country, I will kill you,” in relation to the war ag illegal drugs. Why can’t you feel for the 733, 713 Filipino kids?," she said.

Malou Tiquia, photo from Twitter

"Bakit walang galit bilang Ama ng Bayan? Bakit walang salita tulad ng sa droga? Walang pagmumura sa korupsyon na nangyari? Sa pagmamadali na nangyari? Nakakalungkot ang pagkatahimik! #DengevaxiaScandal," she added.

Her question was tackled by netizens, giving their own versions of what the reason behind Duterte's silence may be.

In the comments section of Tiquia's post, Kristine Marie Sy-Francisco said that the President might still be investigating.



Likewise, Maristella Noel Gumila said that Duterte is "probably too mad to say anything now. Must be doing his own investigation on it. I’m sure he’d want to get to the bottom of it first before uttering a word."

"PRRD is not a medical expert, wouldn't it be stupid of him to condemn something which he does not fully understand? Sure he is very passionate about the welfare of children, I would like to believe that he is studying the issue very carefully before making statements," said a Saldy Bonifacio.

Patrice Ilagan posited that Duterte is probably waiting on the Senate Investigation and for all the evidence to turn up.

"We have a democratic govt with three branches of the same level with independent power. You cannot blame the executive that is to say the PRESIDENT its because thats the work of the legislative branch. Though DOH is under him. The question is the processes and the law," said a Siegfried Lasu-ay.

Meanwhile, Margie Genobisa Basan said that the President's invectives will be hurled when all evidence is presented.



"I believe the whole thing reached him before it came out AGAIN. Gordon a year ago already made inquiries but was meted with silence n fear daw. Now the whole thing came out. I believe he heard of it na n ordered FULL THROTTLE," Lorna Adlawan-Fernandez said.

Meanwhile, Shangy Cuenca said that the President may be satisfied by the actions taken by the Department of Justice and the Department of Health who are now investigating on the issue.

Joey Kilayko Montalvo said he approves of this "silent treatment" which he says has a scarier effect than "loud acoustics".

"Maybe he’s being more circumspect and letting the chips fall where they should before he hammers the final nail on the coffin," he added.

Lasmar Lasmarias Edullantes, on the other hand, said that that the nature of the President is unpredictable, and that he has this ability to capitalize the situation to his advantage, and thus making the noise and joining the condemnation now is a useless use of such leverage.



"Even without his personal comments the reaction of the people are more than enough for his enemies to worry and besides it is a technical problem which has been addressed by the new sec Duque. It is not in his realm of expertise. I believe DOJ is now conducting its own investigation. Definitely it has the blessing of the president," he said.

At the moment. the DOJ and DOH are performing their investigations on the drug by Sanofi Pasteur.

Former Health Secretary Janette Garin, being the leader of the Dengvaxia project, is the first lead on the issue.

A Senate Investigation is also being conducted, with Sanofi representatives present to answer the allegations.

Meanwhile, Dengvaxia has been pulled out from the market by the Food and Drug Administration.

Source: Malou Tiquia

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