MANILA, Philippines – The Senate Blue Ribbon committee cited yesterday the possibility of inviting former president Benigno Aquino III to explain the alleged haste by which the Department of Health purchased the Dengvaxia vaccines for dengue in December last year.

The panel on Monday conducted its first hearing on the issue following the deaths of two children, who received the first dose of the vaccine in April.

The purchase of some P3.5 billion worth of dengue vaccines by the DOH was done during the past administration.

“There should have been extraordinary diligence by the DOH (in the purchase of the vaccines) but there seemed to have been deadlines and haste,” Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the panel, said in an interview.

“But more than the transaction, what is more important to me are the lives of our children, the safety of the vaccines,” he said.

The senator said there was no congressional appropriation for the purchase of Dengvaxia in the 2015 national budget so the funds for the vaccines were taken from retirement benefits.