QC judge urged: Inhibit Dengvaxia case

Relatives of children who died after being inoculated by the Dengvaxia vaccine on Thursday filed a motion for voluntary inhibition against QC RTC Branch 229 acting Presiding Judge Maria Luisa Lesle G. Gonzales-Betic after she granted the motion to quash filed by former health secretary and now Representative Janette Garin, among others.

In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Sumachen Dominguez, president of Samahan ng mga Magulang Anak ay Biktima ng Dengvaxia, said they filed the motion for voluntary inhibition because they felt the ruling of the judge has "shortchanged" them.

To recall, Gonzales-Betic in a 7 December 2023 has ordered state prosecutors to consolidate and refile 35 criminal cases related to the deaths of children inoculated by Dengvaxia vaccine.

The ruling in effect granted the motion to quash filed by Garin, Melody Zamudio, Dr. Maria Rosario Z. Capeding, Dr. Rosalind Vianzon, Carlito Realuyo and Conchita Santos.

The parents said the order of the judge in effect "killed" their hopes for justice for their children who died due to the experimental vaccine.

"It is very disheartening that the judge ordered the consolidation of the 35 cases when in fact the death and inoculation did not happen in one day and in one place just what she was referring to the Ivler case," Dominguez said.

She added that even a pet is being given the proper treatment when they died but their children seemed to have been treated unfairly as they called on the Supreme Court to look into the matter because the court has earlier created a court solely to handle the dengvaxia cases.

From June to August 2023, prosecutors filed 35 separate cases of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries against former Garin and 17 other officials and doctors of the Department of Health.