By Camille A. Aguinaldo
Senator Loren B. Legarda on Monday, May 28, said the Senate aims to pass on third and final reading the P1.16 billion supplemental budget for medical assistance to children vaccinated with Dengvaxia before the May session ends this week.
“The House will pass it on third reading and transmit to us because any matter of appropriations has to be transmitted from the Lower House. So before the end of session this week, we will have a supplemental budget,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the Senate hearing on the Dengvaxia fund bill.
The P1.16 billion amount came from the refund of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur over the unused anti-dengue vaccines as demanded by the Philippine government.
Senate bill Nos. 1794 and 1795 seek to allocate the refund for activities targeted at helping Dengvaxia vaccinees, such as medical assistance and monitoring.
The House appropriations committee has approved its counterpart version of the bill last week. Its version indicated that the fund may be used beyond 2019 until it has been emptied.
Ms. Legarda, on the other hand, preferred the fund to be spent over a fixed period of time.
“I prefer a fixed period so they are forced to spend the money at a set time,” she said.
For his part, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said the bill will unlikely pass in the Senate this week as he has yet to receive the certification of urgency from the President on the proposed measure.
“Show me the certification. If there is certification then we can pass it. If there is no certification, I doubt it (will be passed on third and final reading this week),” he told reporters.
If a bill is certified urgent by the President, Congress may both approve on second reading and third reading the proposed measure on the same day. The certification would bypass the three-day rule needed before a bill is approved on third reading after it hurdled second reading.
The Senate and the House of Representatives would adjourn its session on June 1.

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