The Public Attorney’s Office on Monday urged the Supreme Court”•and the Office of the Court Administrator”•to act on its petition to consolidate all eight Dengvaxia-related cases into one Family Court in Quezon City.
In an 11-page manifestation with a motion for early resolution, PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta appealed to the SC-OCA “that this manifestation be duly noted [so that an] early resolution could be granted.”
“The general aim of procedural law is to facilitate the application of justice to the rival claims of contending parties, bearing always in mind that procedural rules are created not to hinder or delay but to facilitate and promote the administration of justice,” the manifestation says.
“I love the state prosecutors, but why dribble the cases?” Acosta told reporters.
“We sent this fourth motion to Court Administrator Midas Marquez.”
Acosta wants the eight criminal cases under the first batch of dengue-vaccine Dengvaxia-related cases, which are pending before different courts in Quezon City, Laguna, Muntinlupa, Bataan and Caloocan, consolidated and transferred to a single Family Court in Quezon City.
She proposed that the cases be referred to the Office of the Clerk of Court-Regional Trial Court in Quezon City and raffled off to one Supreme Court-designated Family Court for further proceedings and disposition.
The PAO filed on April 4 a petition for Extremely Urgent Petition to Transfer the Venue and Consolidated Cases to One Regional Trial Court before the SC-OCA because the conflicting orders of a court in Caloocan and Laguna would contribute to the delay in the prosecution of the case.
The court in Muntinlupa said the Sandiganbayan had jurisdiction over the case, while the court in Muntinlupa said a Regional Trial Court had jurisdiction.
Acosta argued that the consolidation of these cases in one Family Court would promote the speedy administration of justice and would be favorable to all parties.
“The consolidation of these cases in one Family Court in Quezon City will be more to the advantage of justice as the trial of the said cases will be lodged in one Family Court,” Acosta said.
As of Monday, the PAO chief said, they had filed 48 criminal Dengvaxia-related cases for dead victims before the Department of Justice; one survivor-victim; and six more cases to be filed.