Imee: Hard to get witnesses for Senate probe into alleged US ops vs Sinovac

Senator Imee Marcos on Monday admitted having difficulties in inviting resource persons for the Senate inquiry into the alleged secret campaign by the US military to discredit China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine.

"Nahihirapan kami sa testigo sa totoo lang tungkol doon sa Pentagon black propaganda na natuklasan ng Reuters tungkol sa mga [Chinese] vaccines katulad ng Sinovac," Marcos, who sought the inquiry, said in an ambush interview.

(The truth is we are having a hard time getting witnesses regarding the Pentagon black propaganda discovered by Reuters against vaccines such as Sinovac.)

"Nahihirapan ako sa testigo kasi naireport sa diyaryo. Pero ngayon ayaw naman magtestigo sa aming hearing. Tingnan natin at pati 'yung [Department of Health], hindi ko alam kung bakit nahihirapan kami mag-anyaya ng mga testigo samantalang kailangan malaman natin ito kasi higit sa lahat hindi dapat maulit itong [pagdamay sa] buhay ng mamamayang Pilipino," she added.

(I am having a hard time with the witnesses because this has already been reported in the news. But now they don't want to testify in our hearing. Let's see. Even the DOH, I don't know why we are having difficulty inviting witnesses when we need to probe this matter. This meddling in the lives of Filipino citizens should not be repeated.)

The Senate foreign relations committee, which she chairs, will launch the inquiry on Tuesday.

Ayungin Shoal

Apart from the alleged secret campaign by the US military, the Senate panel will also investigate the latest incident in Ayungin Shoal, which caused severe injuries to at least seven Filipino servicemen.

"Maraming katanungan tungkol dito, dahil una sinabi na very aggressive and belligerent attack. Pagkatapos no’n ang sabi mere misunderstanding and accident. Kanina may nakita na naman ako sa US sa Amerikano na hindi raw accident or misunderstanding. Litong-lito na po kami kaya’t kinakailangan na malaman natin," Marcos said.

(There are many questions, because first, they said it was a very aggressive and belligerent attack. Then afterward, they said it was a mere understanding and accident. Earlier today I read something that for the US it was not an accident or misunderstanding. We are already confused so we need to conduct this inquiry.)

According to Marcos, the inquiry will not focus on the security arrangements and explained that it is meant to "clarify" what really happened last June 17.

"Gusto lang natin maliwanagan kung ano ba talaga ang nangyari at ano ba ang dapat na gawin para hindi na maulit ang insidenteng ito," she said.

(We just want to be enlightened about what really transpired and what should be done so this incident will not happen again.)

"I’m a firm believer that primordial importance is the escalation of tension in the West Philippine Sea and the Taiwan Strait. It benefits no one. It could be dangerous for the Philippines. We will be conducting this hearing. If necessary, we're treating to executive session if there will be security concerns," she added. —KG, GMA Integrated News