Gatchalian: Aquino not criminally liable for Dengvaxia mess

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Wednesday said that he does not believe that former President Benigno Aquino III is criminally liable for the controversial anti-dengue vaccination program that has prompted investigations by Congress and the executive branch.

The rift meanwhile between Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Sen. Richard Gordon widened after the former police chief criticized the chairman of the blue ribbon committee over critical comments following Lacson’s defense of Aquino.

Gatchalian, who signed Gordon's draft committee report, which is critical of Aquino’s role in the program implementation, said that the former president is not a doctor and simply relied only on the advice of his secretaries.

He added that Aquino, although accountable for his actions as head of the government, did not show hidden motives or bad faith in approving the program that saw more than 800,000 children inoculated with Dengvaxia, an anti-dengue shot developed by French manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur.

The pharmaceutical giant issued a warning in November 2017 that it had found that individuals who were given the vaccine but had not contracted the disease previously were in danger of a more severe type of infection.

“I am not convinced that PNoy (Aquino) is criminally liable. He might be accountable for the whole program because, at the end he was the president, and if you are president, you should be accountable for all the actions of the government,” Gatchalian said in media briefing in the Senate.

Gatchalian said that it was former Health Secretary Janette Garin who recommended the implementation of the program and found the budget to push it through.

He also believes that former Secretary Paulyn Ubial, President Rodrigo Duterte’s first Health secretary, was as liable as Garin as she oversaw the expansion of the program from being school-based to being community-based.

Gatchalian said that this expansion resulted in the inoculation of an additional 347,000 children and adults including policemen, adding that he believed that Ubial did this to save her job as health chief.

In a draft report released last week, Gordon said that Aquino and some of his officials, including Garin, former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Philippine Children’s Medical Center executive director Julius Lecciones were liable for a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Gordon also said that there was an “obvious conspiracy” between Aquino and Garin to facilitate the procurement of the anti-dengue shots during an election year.

Aquino meanwhile criticized Gordon and said that the panel hearings were a “Dick Gordon show (which) started with a conclusion and tried to produce facts to support it.”

His spokesperson, Abigail Valte, also gave an assurance that the former leader is ready to face the allegations against him.

Lacson, who was the rehabilitation chief of areas devastated by Super Typhoon Yolanda during the previous administration, came to Aquino’s defense and said that the former leader was incapable of committing graft and corruption.

This prompted Gordon to say that Lacson’s defense was to be expected since Aquino helped him in hiding, a charge that the former police chief denied.

Lacson said on Twitter:

With a lot of help from a doctor-friend, I say this - Somebody who has a mouth like an incontinent anus with a defective sphincter pylori can indiscriminately destroy reputations.

— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) April 17, 2018