Roque: Duterte not behind alleged efforts to ‘demonize’ predecessor

Former President Benigno Aquino III shows a graph of dengue cases at a news briefing at the Comelec office after filing a counter affidavit on the Dengvaxia complaint filed by VACC last March. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Malacañang on Sunday distanced itself from supposed moves to “besmirch and demonize” former President Benigno Aquino III through the Dengvaxia debacle.

Aquino on Sunday said his political opponents were obviously out to “besmirch and demonize” him through the various cases filed against him related to Dengvaxia.

“I am a person of their interest whose reputation has to be besmirched, demonized,” Aquino said.

READ: Aquino says political opponents out to ‘besmirch, demonize’ him through Dengvaxia cases

Presidential spokersperson Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte had been “level headed and objective” on the Dengvaxia issue.

“President Duterte’s position on Dengvaxia is clear: He will form three man panel of Asian experts to advice him,” Roque told INQUIRER.net.  “This means he’s not out to demonize anyone as he has been levelheaded and objective on the issue.”

Three cases had been filed against Aquino before the Ombudsman. He had also been asked to appear for an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation.

In a related development, Aquino is facing a complaint at the Commission on Elections for the release of the budget for the purchase of anti-dengue drug during an election ban in 2016.

Abigail Valte, Aquino’s spokesperson, had said that it appeared that those who had filed a complaint against the former President are “magically given an appointment” in the Duterte administration.

But Roque maintained that the current President had no hand in the supposed efforts to bismirch Aquino’s reputation.

“If there are those demonizing PNoy [Aquino] on the issue, it’s not the President,” Roque said. /atm