Iloilo first district Rep. Oscar Garin, Jr., husband of former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin, recently denied allegations he tried to pressure former DOH Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial to allocate more funding for the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine, which supposedly resulted in her rejection by the House of Representatives Commission on Appointments.

“For the record, I am not a member of the Commission on Appointments,” he stated.

“I only asked [Ubial] if it is true that some children in NCR will only receive two doses [for free] and will they pay for the third dose?” Garin added.

Dengvaxia, which had been administered to school children throughout Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon, identified as “highly-endemic areas,” or areas with the highest number of dengue cases, has been revealed to potentially cause more severe dengue symptoms./WDJ