It appears that Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa has not been keeping track of his medical records.
When the chief of the PNP General Hospital, Senior Superintendent Reimound Sales, announced on Tuesday, December 14, that around 14,000 cops got the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine, Dela Rosa quickly expressed concern.
He wanted to know right there and then if he was among those policemen.
While Sales was responding to reporters' questions outside the hospital, Dela Rosa interrupted the media interview.
"Tiningnan mo sa listahan kung wala ako doon? Baka ako'y [nandoon]. Sigurado ka wala ako (Did you check in the list if I'm not there? I might be. Are you sure, I'm not there)?" the PNP chief asked Sales.
Sales assured Dela Rosa that he's not on the list, before taking more questions from reporters.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WATCH: 14,000 figure of cops injected with Dengvaxia rattles PNP chief Ronald Dela Rosa. He then ordered the PNP Health Services department to monitor all of the vaccinated cops <a href="https://t.co/Ym2yK8Rmeb">pic.twitter.com/Ym2yK8Rmeb</a></p>— Rambo Talabong (@rambotalabong) <a href="https://twitter.com/rambotalabong/status/941171913774153728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Based on the number of policemen who got the vaccine and the fact that the PNP has 190,000 in its force, one in 13 policemen received Dengvaxia.
With these figures in mind, reporters asked Dela Rosa what assurance he could give cops who got the vaccine. Based on the advisory of manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur, Dengavaxia-vaccinated people without prior dengue infection are at risk of contracting a serious case of dengue later on.
The PNP chief replied: "Una bigyan ko muna assurance sarili ko na hindi ako kasama sa listahan. Inassure ako ni Doctor na wala ang pangalan ko doon (First, let me assure myself that I am not on the list. The doctor assured me my name isn't there)."
He then said he ordered the PNP Health Service to monitor all those on the list, and to provide assistance to those who get sick.
Asked if the PNP will provide assistance to cops who get infected with dengue, Dela Rosa said: "Meron talaga. Alangan, tao namin 'yan eh, pulis namin 'yun. Aalagaan namin 'yun (There really is [assistance]. They are our people, they are our cops. We will take care of them)." – Rappler.com