Resign your post.
This was the message of opposition
senator Risa Hontiveros to Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) Chief Persida Acosta
because of “scaremongering” during her “politically-motivated investigations”
on the Dengvaxia fiasco. This after the Department of Health (DOH) declared a
measles outbreak in Metro Manila , Central Luzon, Calabarzon , and as well
Western and Eastern Visayas.
Senator Hontiveros avers that
Acosta’s “lies and hysterics contributed directly to the erosion of public
trust in our vaccination programs” since it caused fears among parents to have
their children vaccinated.
“And because of this, 55 children have lost
their lives to measles, and an outbreak now threatens four regions of our country,”
Hontiveros said.
The opposition senator urges the
government to increase its efforts for a larger vaccination coverage,
especially in poor urban localities and far-flung areas where children are
prone to measles and other preventable diseases.
She said the PAO chief has brought
“shame and embarrassment” to PAO, adding that such an important agency “cannot
be left in the hands of a person with such a track record of lies, negligence,
and hyper-partisanship.”
“I call on Acosta: resign your
post,” the senator said. “She has brought shame and embarrassment on an office
sustained by the selflessness, dedication and sacrifice of its idealistic
lawyers and rank-and-file staff.”
Hontiveros also made her disappointment
known with Atty. Acosta when the latter did not included the experts from the
University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital ( UP-PGH) in their
Dengvaxia investigation.
The expertise of the medical
professionals in UP-PGH, she said, could have “contributed to the PAO’s probe,
ended speculations that the issue was being politicized, and prevented
unnecessary panic and fear among the public.”
“Because of her antics, faith in
the advice of vaccine experts and doctors is on the decline… A responsible
public servant would have called for calm. Instead, she sowed panic,” Sen. Hontiveros
said.
“The fact that she refuses any
responsibility for her actions not only betrays public trust but also insults
all the families she has injured,” the opposition senator added.
Hontiveros concludes that all the
efforts of the DOH in the prevention of diseases preventable through the
administration of vaccines have been “set back” because of Acosta’s actions.
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