[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’Dengvaxia mess: Syjuco accuses PNoy, Garin of ‘mass murder’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” admin_preview_bg=”]
MANILA – Former Iloilo 2nd District congressman Augusto Syjuco Jr. filed a complaint for mass murder and plunder against former President Benigno Aquino III and former Health secretary Janette Garin for the P3.5-billion dengue vaccination program.
According to Syjuco yesterday, he filed the charges at the Office of the Ombudsman on behalf of 733,000 school children who were “inoculated with the deadly vaccine through apparent recklessness and negligence, and (Aquino and Garin’s) apparent anxiety to spend P3.5 billion of public funds.”
He compared the Dengvaxia fiasco to the Mamasapano, Maguindanao incident in 2015 where 44 Philippine National Police – Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers were killed.
“Mr. Aquino is the same ‘sick-o’ who had committed the same murder through reckless imprudence and negligence in the military fiasco,” said Syjuco.
Syjuco was also a former chief of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Aquino administration filed graft complaints against him.
“History did not forgive Adolf Hitler and Adolf Eichmann for being ‘sick-os’ then. Similarly, history cannot forgive Aquino, (Health) secretaries (Enrique) Ona and Garin for being the ‘sick-os’ of our time on their similar crime against humanity,” said Syjuco.
On Thursday, Aquino reiterated nobody knew that the Dengvaxia dengue vaccine posed risks when it was sold by pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur to the Philippine government in 2015.
“Walang may alam na may dagdag na panganib kapag gumamit ka nito (Nobody knew that there were risks if you used this vaccine),” Aquino said in a press conference after the Senate Blue Ribbon probe into the controversial vaccine.
Aquino said that to him, any other person faced with the same situation would do the same, knowing the vaccine was going to prevent dengue in a country where the number of dengue cases was increasing.
He added that he could not imagine knowing that a vaccine that could prevent dengue was readily available but not taking any action to procure it.
“Anong dahilan ang ipapaliwanag na merong vaccine na pangangalagaan ka, na maiwasan magka-dengue, may pera ang gobyerno tapos ‘di ko ipapabili. Paano ko ipapaliwanag ‘yun kung ganun ‘yung desisyon (What reason would I give the people when there’s this vaccine that can prevent dengue which the government can afford but I won’t allow its purchase. How do I explain that sort of decision?),” he added.
Aquino attended the hearing into the controversial vaccine. This was the first time Aquino, a former senator, returned to the Senate since he was elected President in 2010.
Sen. Richard Gordon, committee chair, earlier said he saw “strong signs of conspiracy” in the vaccine purchase noting that it seemed like there was a hurry to procure them.
He said his suspicion was fueled by reports that Aquino and Garin had several meetings with Sanofi which resulted in the acceleration of the procurement process. (With a report from the Philippine News Agency)/PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
