After the dismissal of eight dengvaxia charges filed against former Department of Health (DOH) chief Janette Garin, who is now an Iloilo representative, a Quezon City judge handling the cases has inhibited to further litigate 35 other suits.
Branch 229 Judge Cleto Villacorta III issued an order, a copy was obtained by the Manila Standard, recusing himself from handling the other Dengvaxia cases filed before his sala.
“It is useless for myself and this branch to continue hearing the eight and then dealing from pre-trial with the next 35 cases,” he said.
“If the only way to resolve these cases is for another branch to agree with the prosecution all the way and the means to do this is to have all these cases re-raffled, then it is what it is,” he added.
The justice system was not anchored on coercion and compelled consent, he cited, saying the trust and confidence of the litigants in the government workers run the system.
“If that trust and confidence disappears, the bedrock of authority that founded this system and my own authority as a minor player in this scheme also crumble, this event signals the end of what it is,” the judge said.
