Stone we throw at Janette Loreto-Garin

"Condemn none: if you can stretch out a helping hand, do so. If you cannot, fold your hands, bless your brothers, and let them go their own way."
 -- Swami Vivekananda

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Let's not be quick to throw stone at former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin.
Like any accused, she deserves her day in court.
There's no concrete proof yet that the lady physician benefitted financially from the controversial purchase by the DOH during the Aquino administration of the P3.5 billion anti-dengue vaccine.
Everything is mere speculation. The human mind is always critical and suspicious.
There's no clear evidence yet that she acted alone and was solely responsible for the hated deal.
No one can tell that the former Iloilo board member had committed glaring or malicious intentions to inflect harm on anybody and pocket multi-million kickbacks.
As the DOH's highest official when the program was conceptualized, we aren't surprised that Loreto-Garin, 45, is now being crucified and condemned like a heretic.
When lawmakers, broadcasters, and parents mentioned Loreto-Garin's name, it's like they were describing Medusa, a Gorgon and winged female monster in the Greek mythology.

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We can't imagine the distress and sadness Loreto-Garin and her family have been going through ever since the brouhaha exploded on national and international media a few days ago.
We can't also imagine the horror and panic the report has caused thousands of Filipino parents whose children were among those vaccinated by the now infamous DOH program.
What we learned from reports was that the implementation of the program for school children in the Philippines has been halted after Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine Dengvaxia manufacturer, ruled that the vaccine is unsafe for use of those who have not been infected with dengue.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has been tasked by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to probe the alleged fiasco effective December 4, 2017.
Since the NBI investigation is still on infant stage, we can't yet pinpoint the gun and pull the trigger on any Tom, Dick, and Harry mentioned and blamed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) in the deal.
Loreto-Garin herself has signified her willingness to cooperate with the investigators "in due time" and "in the proper forum" because she was reportedly still busy attending to her ailing father.


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Before he said yes to the invitation of Iloilo City Mayor Jose "Joe III" Espinosa III to grace the 2018 Dinagyang Festival, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had been invited through social media by Marivic Mabilog, wife of "dismissed" Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, to drop by the controversial "mansion" located near the Iloilo River so he would see that it is not really expensive as what critics of Mayor Mabilog have been declaring.
When the presidential entourage goes to the Iloilo Freedom Grandstand from the Iloilo International Airport for the big event in the third week of January 2018, it will pass by the magnificent Iloilo River.
From a distance, President Duterte would be able to see the controversial Mabilog house.
It's important that he could see it by himself and not just rely on whispers from merchants of political intrigues.

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Will the Panay Electric Company (PECO) obtain an extension of its franchise for another 25 years now that the ball is on the court of the House of Representatives?
We will know when Iloilo reporters ask President Duterte when visits the Dinagyang Festival next month.
Mr. Duterte's body language and words about the issue will give answers to all our doubts and worries.

A test of Loreto-Garin's integrity

"One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised."
-- Chinua Achebe

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Ilonggos will be watching with bated breath as former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Loreto-Garin defends the controversial purchase during the term of former President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III of the controversial P3.5 billion anti-dengue vaccination, which is now the subject of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) probe.
Since Loreto-Garin, 45, is a former Iloilo provincial board member and the wife of Iloilo 1st District Rep. Oscar "Richard" Garin Jr., the Ilonggos are worried that her name might be dragged in the controversy, which has the potential to explode as a tidal wave.
Since it involves billions of pesos and tagged as "danger to public health" (about 10 percent of the estimated 700,000 children vaccinated prior to dengue infection are reportedly at risk), the story has sent shockwaves all over the world.
So far, no Ilonggo public servant who served in the national government has been implicated in a scandal of horrific proportion in recent memory.
We are confident that, without prejudice to the ongoing NBI probe as ordered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) effective December 4, 2017, Loreto-Garin will not besmirch the reputation of the Ilonggos and she can wiggle out from the difficult dilemma.


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Loreto-Garin, one of the richest cabinet officials who served under the Aquino administration, has no derogatory record in as far as public service is concerned.
That's why her relatives in Leyte and in-laws in Iloilo as well as their political supporters, are not worried that the controversy might cause dishonor to her name and jeopardize the political future of the Garins once the NBI has conducted its full blown investigation.
Loreto-Garin's innocence in the anti-vaccine tumult is vital as the Philippines prepares for the next congressional elections, which is about 15 months away.
Most of her in-laws in Iloilo are gunning for important elective seats, and they can't afford to carry a heavy baggage like the controversy Loreto-Garin is in today during the campaign period.
If the NBI investigation will find Loreto-Garin among those liable in the alleged anomalous DOH-Sanofi Pasteur P3.5 billion Dengvaxia deal, her husband and in-laws could suffer the domino effects in the 2019 elections.
The entire Garin clan's political luck rests on Loreto-Garin's exoneration.


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SOME Iloilo City hall "job hires" assigned in the Esplanade for the city government's cleanliness program are reportedly being required to report morning and afternoon to work as sweepers without day off effective December 2017.
To compound the matter, they can hardly make both ends meet because aside from their low salary, they are also allegedly being paid late.
If true, let's hope that City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) chief, Engr. Noel Hechanova, can help them.

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With or without peace talks with the communist and the seccesionist rebels, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should always be on the watch for possible ambush and raid in their precincts and detachments.
They aren't supposed to let their guards down and complain of harassment ad "treachery" when they are killed in "surprised" attacks.
Soldiers should always be on alert because they have been sworn to protect the republic from those who intend to topple the government; and that's why they are hailed as heroes.
Being killed in action or in "surprised" attacks is part of the risk they face every day.