Relatives of children believed to have died after receiving Dengvaxia vaccine shots are calling for the resignation of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
At a news conference in Quezon City, Ariel Hedia, along with his wife Ruby, appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to sack Duque over his involvement in the mass vaccination of 830,000 children under his term.
The couple was joined by more or less 100 parents, including Darwin and Merlyn Bataan, Sonia Guerra, Liberty Ganzore, Raul and Elloly Galoso, Raymond and Ma. Cecilia Torres, Danilo and Sheryl Bautista, and Nelson and Edna Santos, who earlier filed a complaint of plunder, graft and violation of the Code of Conduct for Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The placard-bearing parents of children who supposedly died due to Dengvaxia flocked to the Ombudsman to file the complaint.
“Duque must resign for delicadeza,” Ruby Hedia told reporters.
She also blamed ex-Health secretary Janette Garin, other former and active Department of Health and Philippine Children’s Medical Center officials, and Duque for the death of her daughter Abbie in February 2018.
Earlier, the victims’ parents filed separate civil suits against the accused before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court.