Aquino slams House panels’ recommendation to sue him over Dengvaxia mess

Aquino, in his statement, also stressed that if his administration did not implement the anti-dengue vaccination program, he is now probably answering the question of more than 830,000 people: “May bakuna na pala, bakit pinagkait mo pa (If there is already a vaccine, why did you not give it to us)?” (File Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III on Friday, February 8, slammed the House Committees on Good Government and Public Accountability and Health that recommended to sue him and his former Cabinet officials over the Dengvaxia controversy.

Voting 14-4 on Wednesday, the joint committee recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against Aquino, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and several others over the procurement of the anti-dengue vaccine which was used for the suspended immunization program.

The lawmakers, on their committee report, alleged that there was “collusion” among these public officials “to ensure that a large quantity of Dengvaxia vaccines would be purchased by the government” for grade school students in public schools in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon).

[READ: House panels want to sue Aquino, others over Dengvaxia mess]

The vaccination program was rolled out although the safety and efficacy of Dengvaxia “had not been clearly established,” according to the report.

Responding to this, Aquino maintained that no one expressed their opposition against the vaccine, not even through a text message, letter, or in person.

“Makailang ulit ko nang sinabi, sa Senado at sa media na nasa Kongreso, na bago nagdesisyon sa Dengvaxia, habang nagdedesisyon, at pagkatapos magdesisyon, at maski hanggang sa ngayon ay walang nagparating sa akin ng pagtutol sa naturang bakuna (I have said this many times already, at the Senate and to the media who are in Congress, that before we decided on the use of Dengvaxia, while we are deciding, after we decided, and even until now, nobody expressed their disapproval on the vaccine),” he said, referring to a line in the report saying that “there were warnings.”

“Walang sinumang sumalungat o nagsabing ‘Ako, nagbabala ako sa iyo.’ Ngayon po, kung walang kumontra, ibig-sabihin, tanggap nilang totoo ang sinabi ko. Saan ngayon galing ang sinasabi sa Committee Report (No one opposes or said ‘I warned you.’ Now, if no one objected, it means that what I said is true. Where did the information in the committee report come from)?” he added.

The former president also addressed the lawmakers’ concern regarding the funds used for the immunization program. To this, he said, “Ang ginamit na savings para pondohan ang bakuna ay galing sa (The savings used to fund the vaccine came from the) 2015 Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF).” This, he added, is in accordance with the Supreme Court and Congress’ definition of savings.

He then mentioned Section 69 of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2015 which states that the President, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice, Heads of Constitution Commissions, and the Ombudsman are “hereby authorized to use savings in their respective appropriations to augment actual deficiencies incurred for the current year in any item of their respective appropriations. An item of appropriations shall pertain to the amount appropriated for a program, activity or project authorized in this Act.”

“Inaprubahan ko ang paggamit sa savings ng MPBF noong ika-29 ng Disyembre 2015 (I approved the use of savings from the MPBF on December 29, 2015),” he said.

Aquino, in his statement, also stressed that if his administration did not implement the anti-dengue vaccination program, he is now probably answering the question of more than 830,000 people: “May bakuna na pala, bakit pinagkait mo pa (There is already a vaccine, why did you not give it to us)?”

“Maliwanag po, may mga kalaban tayo sa politika, na laging sasabihing mali ang ating ginawa o ‘di ginawa (It is clear that we have political enemies who always say that what we did was wrong or that we did nothing),” he said.

“Binalot nila ng intriga, pagdududa, at takot ang mga bakuna. Pinakaba ang higit 837,900 at ang buong sambayanan, kaya pati ang bakunang gaya ng para sa Tigdas ay inaayawan (They surrounded the vaccine with intrigue, doubt, and fear. They scared more than 837,902 and the entire Filipino people, that is why they do not want other vaccines like the ones for measles),” he continued.

Aquino said that he will let the public decide on who among the two sides is right.

The Department of Health (DOH) recently declared a measles outbreak in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other areas in Luzon, Central Visayas, and Eastern Visayas.

[READ: Measles outbreak also declared in other areas of Luzon, Visayas]

It attributed the rise in measles cases to the low vaccination coverage due to the scare brought by the Dengvaxia fiasco.

Parents have been urged by the government to have their kids vaccinated against the highly contagious disease.