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Gordon says Aquino, ex Cabinet officials ‘criminally liable’ for Dengvaxia mess
Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and some of his Cabinet officials must be held “criminally liable” for the controversial P3.5-billion dengue immunization program, Senator Richard Gordon said on Wednesday, April 11. (Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)
Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and some of his Cabinet officials must be held “criminally liable” for the controversial P3.5-billion dengue immunization program, Senator Richard Gordon said on Wednesday, April 11.
Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, called Aquino, former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and former Health Secretary Janette Garin as “primary conspirators” and that they must be prosecuted “for all the tragedy, damage, and possible deaths resulting from the Dengvaxia mass vaccination program.”
“Former President Aquino is responsible because he caused the purchase of Dengvaxia and in the process caused irreversible damage, possibly death, to children, [and] anxiety, sleepless nights, unnecessary expense on the part of the parents and guardians,” Gordon said in a press conference.
Gordon added that the “greatest sin and transgression” of the former Philippine leader was to “put the lives of Filipino children in grave peril.”
Reading the draft report of the committee, Gordon recommended that Aquino and his former aides should be charged with graft and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees or Republic Act 6713.
“President Aquino is guilty of malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance. From the time he inappropriately met with Sanofi in Beijing on November 9 2014, and once again a year later in December 1, 2015,” the report stated.
Gordon also noted that Aquino met with mere senior vice presidents of Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine manufacturer. He stressed that by meeting with them, Aquino was sending a strong message of perception that he was dispensing undue patronage.
He added that each time they met, the administration started acting with “undue haste, losing all forms of objectivity.”
The report came after the Senate Blue Ribbon committee conducted several hearings to investigate who are responsible for the alleged anomalous purchase of Dengvaxia.
Gordon said that the committee’s draft report will be delivered to the offices of the senators for their signatures and will be reported to the plenary session when session starts in May.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives conducted a series of probe into the now-suspended immunization vaccination program for public school students after Sanofi revealed that the vaccine could lead to severe diseases if administered to people who have not been infected by the dengue virus beforehand.
Experts from the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) were tapped by the DOH to confirm alleged deaths due to the vaccine.
txslim55
April 11, 2018 at 5:42 PM
Gordon your making a lot of wealthy enemies
Xivver Farcgai
April 11, 2018 at 6:47 PM
Kong totoo kang politicians at may malasakit ka sa kapwa mo pilipino o kaya imagine mo nlang isa sa apo kamag anakmo nabakunahan matatakot kapa kaya kalabanin ang dambuhalang demonyong buwaya na walang awang lumapa sa apo o anak mo
Na habang buhay ka nakikita mo sa iyong diwa ang karumaldumal na paglapa ng buwaya sa murang walang kalabanlaban na katawan ng anak mo … !??
arkeylis
April 11, 2018 at 5:44 PM
It is so obviously right. Aquino is held responsible of purchasing vaccine without any guarantee of its safetiness. Until now there is no remedy but merely observation of children admitted for being inject “Dengvaxia.”
The Cabinet or former official may declare it according statistic of the epidemic of Dengue but there should be a safety precaution or remedy if in case something go wrong. Now, those children who are admitted is under Doctor observation and other medicine cost go up high use because of the Dengvaxia. Do you see how stupid the transaction become? You inject a medicine which is not probe safe to a children. And then, the children got sick. Now your Doctor have to take care or observe number of children who fall sick of Dengvaxia. Plus, other medicine was highly use just to prevent children to suffocate or suffer from Denvaxia vaccine where in fact it is not a cure from Dengvaxia. What a very burden for Doctors? Especially when they have other patients to attend to. What a waste of medicine on the part of pharmacy? Especially when the medicine is use to save lives of children cause by Dengvaxia where in fact it is not a cure to heal them from Dengvaxia. What a burden to parent who also need to expense to pay Doctor and Medicine? The Parent’s also can’t work because they have to attend their children’s condition. Don’t you see what have DENGVAXIA cause to most children?
We believe the children are the future. But what future does it have when more children dies of DENGVAXIA?