PNoy Aquino and the art of doublespeak

I’m writing this column while watching ANC’s interview on HeadStart hosted by Annalisa Burgos with Rep. Johnny Pimentel who chairs the House Good Government and Public Accountability Committee investigating the scandalous Dengvaxia anti-dengue drug, which forced Congress to invite former Pres. Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III and former budget secretary Florencio Abad to appear before them to explain their administration’s deployment of a dengue vaccine that is now at the center of a health scare throughout the country.

The heart of this controversy was due to the admission by the Dengvaxia manufacturer, Sanofi-Pasteur, who admitted late last year that the drug could cause more severe symptoms when given to those who have not had the mosquito-borne disease. This prompted the government to recall the drug and demand a refund of the P3.5 billion that the Department of Health paid to the huge pharmaceutical company, who apparently refused to refund the DOH.

During last Monday’s congressional hearing, former president PNoy Aquino appealed to the lawmakers present to set aside politics and just let the experts say their piece so as not to spark panic and discourage the public from participating in the DOH’s immunization program. I was watching the hearings and it is unfortunate that the lawmakers present were pro-Duterte congressmen; hence Aquino, who was used to having so many allies (who would never dare question him) in Congress during his time, felt he was alone being cornered by political rivals.

But if you watched the hearings, you can see how Aquino has mastered the art of doublespeak! He chastised the lawmakers for “politicizing” the Dengvaxia controversy and asked to allow experts to say their piece, yet in the very same forum, he questioned the qualifications of the Public Attorney’s Office Forensics head Erwin Erfe who performed autopsies on children who allegedly died after being vaccinated with Dengvaxia. Aquino insulted Erfe before the committee saying that this “expert” brandished a professional certificate that looked like it was made on Recto Avenue, notorious for making fake diplomas! This is the Aquino persona adept in insulting those who disagree with him.

This forced PAO Chief Persida Acosta to defend her forensics head, telling the committee that Erfe got his certificate in public financial management from the John F. Kennedy School of Government in Harvard University, while he got his forensic qualification from the American College of Forensic Examiners. Perhaps the truth stunned Aquino who earlier said to let the experts speak. Perhaps he mistakenly thought the experts would kowtow to an Aquino and come up with results that would clear his name.

Critics are saying that everyone had their own set of opinions about the Dengvaxia controversy, but I dare you to tell this to the parents who lost their children, not to any dreaded disease, but rather because they embraced the vaccines imposed by the DOH at that time. Mind you, my good friend, Dr. Rene Bullecer and I have been literally going to town because of so much information that we learned that there are just too many interested parties who would like to give free vaccines to third-world countries to inoculate their children, but unknowingly, the parents do not realize that by the time their children reach childbearing age, they are already rendered sterile by the vaccine that was injected to them 20 years earlier.

Mind you, a close high-profile friend of mine here in Cebu City had his children vaccinated by the DOH because his brother-in-law died of dengue fever, but now that this issue has exploded into the national scene, he is very worried that something will happen to his children. I advised him to have his children checked regularly and to make sure that he kept their health records just in case.

What we got from the HeadStart interview from Rep. Pimentel was that last Monday’s congressional hearing was the last for this controversy because they already got more than enough evidence to come up with an official statement on this issue. His final word was crystal clear, that there was “undue haste” in getting the Dengvaxia vaccine to inoculate our children, even with the knowledge that Dengvaxia was not sold in Europe because the trials were not yet completed. So someone has to pay for this haste!

* * *

For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@ gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www. philstar.com.