Clears Garin, 2 others for lack of proof
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has ordered the withdrawal of 98 counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide charges against former Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Janette Garin and two others in connection with the Dengvaxia vaccine.
In a resolution dated January 10, 2025, the DOJ directed the prosecutor general to withdraw the information filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court against Garin, former health undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo, and former assistant secretary Ma. Joyce Ducusin.
The DOJ stated that after a thorough examination of the evidence, it did not find sufficient grounds to establish a prima facie case against the respondents with reasonable certainty of conviction.
“We do not find a prima facie case with reasonable certainty of conviction against respondent-appellants Bayugo, Ducusin, and Garin,” the resolution read.
The DOJ explained that the respondents cannot be held liable for conspiring and confederating with one another to commit reckless imprudence, as there is no evidence of malicious intent on their part.
The step-by-step procedures undertaken by the respondents leading to the implementation of the program do not exhibit an inexcusable lack of precaution, making it impossible to hold them liable for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.
The resolution resolves the Petition for Review dated September 30, 2022, of the Resolution of the Office of the Secretary of Justice Prosecution Staff (OSJPS) dated June 14, 2022.
In a separate interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo, Garin, who is now the representative of Iloilo’s 1st district, welcomed the decision.
“The autopsy is not a measure to determine the causality between the vaccine and death, and there were also fake experts,” she said in Filipino.
Garin also criticized the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) for its delaying tactics. The withdrawal of the charges against Garin and the two others brings an end to one of the most high-profile cases related to the Dengvaxia vaccine controversy.
The case had sparked widespread debate and concern about the safety and efficacy of the vaccine, which was administered to hundreds of thousands of Filipino children.