Families of school children whose deaths were linked to the Dengvaxia vaccine on Thursday expressed support to a move by the Office of the Solicitor General to revive eight Dengvaxia cases dismissed by a Quezon City court.
Sumachen Dominguez, president of the Samahan ng mga Magulang, Anak at Biktima ng Dengvaxia, lauded Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra for the filing of petitions for review on certiorari before the Court of Appeals, questioning the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s dismissal of the eight criminal charges filed against former Department of Health Secretary Janette Garin.
Apart from Garin, who is currently Iloilo representative, the others who were cited as respondents were ex-Philippine Children’s Medical Center director Julius Lecciones, Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, Dr. Irma Asuncion, Dr. Maria Joyce Ducusin, Dr. Gerardo Bayugo, Dr. Rosalind Vianzon, Carlito Realuyo, and Conchita Santos.
“This petition for Certiorari under Rule 65 of the Revised Rules of Court seeks to reverse, annul, and set aside the following issuances rendered by Respondent Judge Cleto R. Villacorta III, Presiding Judge of Branch 229, Regional Trial Court, Quezon City, in Criminal Case Nos. R-QZN-20-08619-CR, R-QZN-21-05256-CR, R-QZN-22-03837-CR, R-QZN-22-03938-CR, R-QZN-20–08618-CR, R-QZN-09218-CR, R-QZN-20-09662-CR, and R-QZN-20-03936-CR, all entitled People of the Philippines v. Dr. Janette L. Garin, et al.,” Guevarra’s petition read.
He challenged Villacorta’s orders granting the demurrer to evidence filed by Garin and her co- respondents.
“The Orders were issued with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, and there is no appeal or any plan, adequate, and speedy remedy in the ordinary course of law available against them,” Guevarra noted.
“We are elated to know that we, the parents, have an ally at the Office of the Solicitor General,” Dominguez told the Manila Standard.
“It saddened us upon learning before that the cases we filed had been dismissed by the Quezon City court,” she said.
In November 2017, Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur Inc. issued a statement on its website, admitting that the vaccine could lead to adverse effects to individuals with no previous infection of dengue.
“Dengvaxia provides persistent protective benefits against dengue fever in those who had prior infection. For those not previously infected by dengue virus, however, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection,” the statement read.
Under Garin’s administration, the Department of Health procured P3.5 billion worth of Dengvaxia vaccines for the mass inoculation of public school children.
