Dispatch from Crame No. 284: Sen. Leila M. de Lima’s Statement on Sen. Dick Gordon’s Dengvaxia Report

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The Gordon Dengvaxia Report is not a legislative investigation report. It is Gordon’s personal political manifesto demonizing former President Benigno S. Aquino III and his administration.

There is one sentence in the summary of the Senate Blue Ribbon Report on the Dengvaxia investigation that reveals the pathological manipulation and hostility exerted by the Committee Chairman in order to come out with a shameless Anti-Aquino Manifesto disguised as a Blue Ribbon Committee Report. In this summary, Gordon said that PNoy simply didn’t care for Filipino children in ordering the use of the Dengvaxia vaccine. According to him:

“This is in keeping with the character of the President [Aquino]. During the Mamasapano tragedy, he didn’t even visit the body [sic] of the fallen SAFs.” (at p. 12)

First off, what does the Mamasapano incident even have to do with the Dengvaxia investigation? Second, even Gordon’s assertion that PNoy “didn’t even visit the body [sic] of the fallen SAFs” is a blatant lie. On the night of the arrival of the SAF 44 remains in Manila, President Aquino presided over a memorial service where he paid his respects to each and every fallen SAF commando and thereafter spent hours talking to their families. Third, the Blue Ribbon Dengvaxia hearings, of course, definitely did not tackle the Mamasapano incident to enable President Aquino to defend himself from whatever insinuations Gordon would like to demonstrate about PNoy’s behavior with regard said incident in relation to the Dengvaxia issue, assuming there is even any relation. Gordon simply cannot get over President Aquino and the Mamasapano incident. He just had to take it out on the former President using the Dengvaxia investigation.

The whole gist and design of the Gordon report is to inculpate PNoy, without any mention whatsoever of the testimonies and documents presented by PNoy and his officials during the hearings. It is as if PNoy and his officials were never there at the Blue Ribbon Committee hearings.

It is the exact opposite of what Gordon did in the Senate EJK investigation report. While he exerted all efforts to exculpate President Duterte in the EJK investigation, he single-mindedly indicted President Aquino in the Dengvaxia investigation, both without any pretensions at objectivity whatsoever.

The Gordon Report is as malicious as it is pre-ordained. It is made-to-order in accordance with Gordon’s political agenda. Like most of Gordon’s so-called legislative investigations, the Dengvaxia hearings were as much a farce as they were a political witchhunt. In this sense, the Gordon report is no different from, but instead is in perfect harmony with, the legendary hysterics of PAO Chief Persida Acosta.

The Blue Ribbon Committee Dengvaxia Report is Gordon’s personal diatribe against former President Aquino. Nothing more, nothing less. I will not wonder if only a few Senators, or none at all other than Gordon signs it.

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