Lacson sticks to his guns, won’t sign Gordon report on Dengvaxia

Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday said he had “firmed up” his decision not to sign the Senate blue ribbon committee report recommending the filing of charges against former President Benigno Aquino III and several others over the Dengvaxia fiasco, following “unreasonable comments” made against him by Sen. Richard Gordon.

Lacson was offended by Gordon’s statements in a radio program on Sunday where the blue ribbon chair — in reaction to his opposition to the panel’s recommendation — cited Lacson’s “friendship” with Aquino.

Gordon said Aquino helped Lacson when the latter went into hiding during the Arroyo administration and appointed him as rehabilitation czar in areas hit by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013.

“While I did not attend a single hearing on Dengvaxia for the obvious reason shared by most of my colleagues, I was closely monitoring the proceedings,” said Lacson, a member of the blue ribbon committee.

Fellow senators and critics have accused Gordon of monopolizing the hearings.

“[Gordon] was directing the investigation to suit the outcome that he had desired from the very start,” Lacson said. —Christine O. Avendaño