THE Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has filed a motion for reconsideration with the Department of Justice (DOJ), seeking the reversal of the dismissal of 98 Dengvaxia-related cases filed against ex-Department of Health secretary Janette Garin, who is now Iloilo representative.
In a 68-page motion, the PAO cited “the leaking blood and deaths of the multiple victims are crying and shouting for justice and due care.”
The dismissal of the cases “patently ignored and disregarded the fact that the victims died simultaneously after vaccination, although living in different places, but all clearly manifested common patterns of clinical manifestations,” it noted.
The PAO said that there is prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction against Garin, Dr. Gerardo Bayugo and Dr. Ma Joyce Ducusin.
“The deaths of 170 children and adults of the Dengvaxia vaccination speak for themselves. Respondents cannot evade the sword of justice and the rule of law, through the present resolution of the DOJ,” it said.
The respondents’ gross negligence, absence of foresight, care and skill are “highly evident,” it added.
“We humbly implore the Honorable Secretary of Justice to timely rectify the resolution subject of this motion for reconsideration in order to avoid further injustice and impunity of the guilty respondents,” it appealed.
The motion further stated that “with all due respect, complainants submit grave abuse of discretion in dismissing the charges against respondents Drs. Garin, Bayugo and Ducusin despite multiple deaths and overwhelming evidence more than sufficient to ensure conviction.”
DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla junked the criminal charges against the respondents and, citing there’s no causal link between the vaccination and the deaths of the children of the complainants based on the scientific studies of the World Health Organization.
The PAO maintained said Dengvaxia was a “new and experimental” vaccine.
“The issue on expertise cannot absolve the criminal acts and negligence of all the Respondents on said new vaccine, in light of uncontroverted fatal adverse effects as found by the PAO Forensic Team,” it said.
In November 2016, Sanofi Pasteur Inc., the manufacturer of the Dengvaxia vaccine, posted on its official website that dengue-naive people who received the vaccine could be vulnerable to more severe infections.
The DOH procured the vaccines for P3.5 billion in 2015 for the school-based mass vaccination of children in 2016.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline “PAO implores DOJ to reverse ruling on Dengvaxia case.”