Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Acosta on Monday revealed they would be filing more criminal complaints before the Department of Justice concerned former and current officials of the Department of Health involved in the controversial mass vaccination of the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia believed to have resulted in deaths of recipients.
“We will continue to file cases. This Friday we will be filing more complaints,” Acosta vowed.
The PAO had filed a total of 50 complaints before the DOJ since 2018 on behalf of families of those who died or fell ill after getting shots of the Dengvaxia.
“We already filed 50 cases before the DOJ,” Acosta said, representing 50 persons out of the 147 dead victims autopsied by the PAO forensics team and one survivor who all received shots of the still experimental dengue vaccine.
At present, the DOJ panel chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Toefel Austria is hearing the 4th batch of Dengvaxia complaints filed on behalf of the families of 12 dead children and 11-year-old survivor Mark Joseph Estandarte.
The other dead children are Aldrid Aberia, Micaella Mainit, Eira Mae Galoso, Riceza Salgo, Leiden Alcabasa, Jonnel Dacquel, Kenchie Ocfemia, Angelica Pulumbarit, John Marky Ferrer, Maricel Manriza, Charmel Flordeliz and Annaliza Silverio.
Under the complaints, the respondents, who include Iloilo First District Rep. Janette Garin and Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, are accused of reckless imprudence resulting to homicide under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code; torture resulting in the death of a person and torture committed against children under Republic Act 9745, the Anti-Torture Act of 2009; and for violating RA 7394, the Consumer Act of the Philippines, particularly, the mislabeling of drugs and devices, liability for defective products, and liability for product and service imperfection.
Acosta was at the DOJ on Monday to attend the preliminary investigation hearing concerning the fourth batch of complaints.
The DOJ has found probable cause to indict those named as respondents in the first batch of complaints concerning the deaths of nine children.
The DOJ has yet to come up with resolutions after conducting the preliminary investigation over the second and third batch of complaints.
Because of the large number of cases, Acosta reiterated her calls for the Supreme Court to act on the PAO’s request to designate one court to handle all the Dengvaxia cases.
“These (Dengvaxia) cases wil be resolved quickly if one court will handle the cases),” the PAO chief stressed.
“The hearings might take a hundred years and it will not be finished),” she said.