Imprudent

Senator Benigno “Bam” Aquino offers what is yet the weakest defense for his cousin and namesake’s handling of the now controversial Dengvaxia purchase.

The senator was quoted the other day saying that his cousin was not a psychic. Therefore, he could not have known the vaccine administered to over 800,000 young Filipinos might have adverse effects. The cautionary note issued by the manufacturer came after the vaccine was purchased with probably indecent haste and administered carelessly.

Bam’s defense is really an elaboration of his cousin’s own weak defense. Former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino, when he appeared before the Senate public hearing on the matter, said he did not know of the drug’s dangers.

Both Aquinos seem oblivious to the maxim that ignorance is never an excuse. Both fail to address the main thrust of Senator Richard Gordon’s report that ends with the recommendation that the former president, two of his Cabinet members and other officials involved in this scandalous purchase be charged for graft.

Gordon took pains to reconstruct the timeline of events leading to this disastrous purchase. That timeline indicates the officials recommended to be charged were imprudent to say the least.

The vaccine that was purchased in staggering quantity still required further tests. No real test of the vaccine’s efficacy was conducted by our own agencies. Despite that, the vaccine was administered wholesale and without the truly informed consent of the children’s parents. There is not even a master list of all those who were vaccinated with this controversial drug.

It is not a precondition for the indictment that the controversial vaccine was eventually found to have possible dangerous side effects. The Gordon report faults the officials for setting aside all the safeguards in the rush to buy and recklessly administer the vaccine. The crime imputed is not ignorance. It is imprudence. This imprudence may or may not have caused the scores of deaths the Public Attorney’s Office attribute to Dengvaxia. Even that could be set aside.

Even if in the long possibility that Dengvaxia is, in fact, harmless, the officials named are still guilty of administering a vaccine that still required further tests. This is not only careless. It speaks of a certain impunity to the wellbeing of our children. It is callous as it is reckless.

The whole effort to discredit the Public Attorney’s Office does not diminish the malfeasance charged.

Yet we see a comprehensive effort to demean the evidence, to say a causal link between Dengvaxia and the painful death of children vaccinated by it could not be fully established. The effort is pointless.

An untested drug should not have been administered wholesale and with such recklessness. Someone must be held responsible for that.

Senatoriables

The midterm elections are a year away. Yet, it seems, the election fever has caught on.

A recent survey about those our people might choose to populate the Senate produced the expected results. Incumbent senators seeking reelection topped the list.

It was a top-of-mind survey. Incumbents were naturally at the top of respondents’ minds. But an effective electoral campaign could substantially alter the list of those who make it to the winning column.

Senator Grace Poe, in this first test of the comparative standing of probable candidates, leads other contenders by a mile. Her ballot box strength rests on a very high awareness rating combined with a high conversion of awareness to support. With an awareness rating in the high nineties, about 70 percent of voters surveyed said they will vote for her.

Unfortunately, she might not even run. One report says Poe feels burnt out by her time in the Senate (including a presidential run).

Other possible contenders have very high awareness rating but a very low conversion rate. This means people know of them but are not ready to vote for them. We might call them the “high-resistance” candidate. It will take some hard campaigning to change voter attitudes toward them.

Then there are the potential candidates who have comparatively low awareness rating but efficient conversion rates. Those in this category might include Rep. Karlo Nograles, chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

In the survey, Nograles ranks in the 24-32 range. But he has an awareness rating of only 59 percent. If he is somehow able to raise his awareness rating in the months before the actual campaign period, he could be a solid contender. He has the advantage of having nearly no negatives against him.

Although always a low-key political personality, he has been an effective legislator. He was instrumental in delivering President Duterte’s promise to increase the pay of uniformed personnel. If he could get the increasingly significant Mindanao vote and attract the youth vote nationwide, he could be a serious player.

He is likewise very close to his uncle, the popular President Rodrigo Duterte. A strong pitch by the President could dramatically alter the numbers for this young but effective legislator.

Nothing will come easy for this emerging politician however. Since our senators are elected nationally, the seats in this chamber easily go to celebrities. We have had senators who were movie actors, acclaimed athletes or widely known media personalities. That is a function of their very high awareness ratings. It is also a sad commentary on the effectiveness of our political parties.

With our weak political party system, the Senate will likely continue to host celebrities with high name-recall but a low aptitude for serious legislative work. That will not be healthy for our democracy.