MANILA - The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) and the Vanguards of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. (VCPI) on Monday filed administrative cases against incumbent officials of the Department of Health (DOH) in connection with the dengue vaccine controversy.

The VCPI and VACC filed administrative cases against DOH Undersecretaries Carl Tanio, Gerard Bayugo, Lilibeth David, and Mario Villaverde, Assistant Secretaries Lyndon Lee-Suy and Nestor Santiago.

Also facing complaints are DOH directors Laureano Cruz, Joyce Ducusin, Mar Wynn Bello, Leonila Gorgolon, Rio Magpantay, Ariel Valencia, and Julius Lecciones.

Nasser Marohomsalic, the VACC and VCPI’s legal counsel, said the DOH officials committed gross negligence and grave misconduct in the implementation of the Dengvaxia program.

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Marohomsalic said the DOH officials, who also served during the time of former President Benigno Aquino III, carried out the vaccination program with haste, noting that the approval of the use of the vaccine and their procurement were made even though the clinical trial was not yet finished.

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“It was railroaded with the participation of President Aquino,” Marohomsalic told reporters in Malacañang after the filing of the complaint.

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The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption files admin raps at the Malacañang vs DOH officials over the Dengvaxia mess | via @dgplacido pic.twitter.com/ktdk1ILCGw

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) February 5, 2018

The cases were filed in the wake of the findings of an independent panel composed of experts from the Philippine General Hospital which said two of the three reported deaths of children vaccinated with Dengvaxia could be attributed to vaccine failure.

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The VACC had earlier filed an election complaint against Aquino and several others over the same issue.

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VACC legal counsel Manuelito Luna earlier said Aquino and his officials violated election laws when they implemented the Dengvaxia program on April 4, 2016, within the 45-day election ban on government projects for the May 2016 elections.

The government spent P3.5 billion to purchase Dengvaxia for one million public school children in regions reported to have the highest incidence of dengue in 2015.

The vaccine was given to about 830,000 children in Metro Manila, Southern Luzon, Central Luzon and Central Visayas.

The DOH suspended the vaccination program last year after its manufacturer, France's Sanofi Pasteur, admitted that Dengvaxia might cause more severe symptoms on those who have not contracted dengue.

Sanofi Pasteur has returned about P1.6 billion to the government, and Secretary Francisco Duque III said the Philippines would take legal action against the French drug-maker if it refuses to fully refund the P3.5 billion.

The French drug maker, however, has refused to give a refund for the used vaccines.

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