At the center of it

What do the Dengvaxia mess and the Mamasapano massacre have in common? Both have Noynoy Aquino at the very center of each and would have, at least politically, benefited him tremendously as a result had things not turned out so horribly. Also, quite curiously, Noynoy is not being held to full account as a result of these fiascos while subordinate officials are left to twist in the wind.

In the Mamasapano incident, 44 elite police Special Action Force troopers were killed in a secret mission fully known to and duly approved by Noynoy to take down two international terrorists being coddled by Moro rebels deep inside hostile territory in Maguindanao. The operation was set in motion in violation of ongoing peace talks with the rebels because that was the only window available to take the terrorists down.

At the time of the operation, Noynoy was conveniently in Zamboanga. Had the operation succeeded, he would have been nearby to immediately bask in its glory. But while the troops managed to kill the terrorists, the troop withdrawal went terribly wrong. The SAF troopers were surrounded and reinforcements were held back lest all-out war erupt and the peace talks go up completely in flames. In the end, certain sacrifices were made.

In the Dengvaxia mess, Noynoy met twice with officials of Sanofi Pasteur, the French manufacturer of the first-ever vaccine against dengue. The first meeting was in Beijing in November 2014, just before the company bagged the P3.5-billion contract to supply the drug. Noynoy and Sanofi officials met once more in Paris in December of 2015, just prior to his approval for government to launch in April 2016 its mass dengue vaccination campaign.

The full details of what transpired in those meetings remain unclear but suffice it to say they could not have strayed very far from Dengvaxia, the vaccine that Sanofi would much later in 2017 admit posed certain risks when administered to people who have never been exposed to dengue. With several deaths now suspected of being the direct result thereof, the apparent rush to make the Philippines first to try the drug now made it also the first to suffer as a consequence.

But if there was a rush to be first with Dengvaxia, why? Remember that April 2016 when the Philippines rolled out its massive anti-dengue vaccination campaign was just prior to the May 2016 presidential election, where Noynoy's anointed successor was at best a poor second in the surveys. Had things not turned out otherwise, the campaign to help stamp out one of the deadliest mosquito-borne scourges would have expectedly buoyed the administration bet's chances.

As in the Mamasapano case, it is now the subordinate officials of Noynoy who are left to twist in the wind. Not that command responsibility must spare them, they all must bear their part of the blame. But the ultimate burden of responsibility must be borne by the one without whose final authority none of the above would have moved.

A few days ago, Kris Aquino, the sister of Noynoy, came up with a very long post in defense of her family and the role they played in the politics of this country. In that post, she extolled her family's virtues as if they make for some sense of entitlement they unconditionally deserve. I almost puked over that post, especially in light of what Noynoy meant to the life of this nation. To me, the post of Kris was the longest dribble of spit I have ever seen. [email protected]