Former President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday slammed the recommendation of the National Bureau of Investigation to the Office of the Ombudsman to prosecute him and two former Cabinet members for technical misuse of public funds in connection with the implementation of the P3.5-billion anti-dengue immunization program by his administration.
He slammed the bureau even as the Education department on Tuesday it and the Health department had pledged to cooperate in the development of two systems that would allow the government to monitor the condition of pupils and students previously administered with the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia®.
The NBI earlier asked the Ombudsman to indict Aquino, former Health secretary Janette Garin and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. for technical malversation under Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code.
Aquino said the NBI violated his right to due process when it did not get his side or answer during its fact-finding investigation before coming up with its findings.
“It’s not clear to me if the NBI followed the process to come up with their findings... We don’t know what evidence they have... Was there really an investigation conducted?” Aquino said at the Justice department after filing his rejoinder in the charges against him.
He is being held responsible for the deaths of schoolchildren inoculated with the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine that he has previously denied.
He said he was summoned by the NBI to appear before the bureau on May 25 and he sent his lawyers, but they were not given the specifics of any complaint.
“They didn’t give us a copy of any complaint... We were just surprised by the reports of the filing of the case by the NBI,” Aquino said.
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE...
