Sandigan junks Garin’s quash motion

The Sandiganbayan has turned down the bid of ex-Department of Health chief now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin to quash graft and technical malversation raps filed against her in connection with the P3.5-billion unauthorized purchase of Dengvaxia vaccines in 2015.

In a 10-page resolution handed down on 10 January, the anti-graft court denied Garin’s motion along with her other co-accused in concurrence with the prosecution that the cases were not attended by “vexatious, capricious and oppressive delays.”

“Rather, the length of time spent in the investigation indicates that a careful examination and review of the evidence and documents were thoroughly undertaken before the cases were filed in court,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Garin and her co-defendants sought outright dismissal of the raps owing to over five years of inordinate delay in the conduct of the preliminary investigation by the prosecution, which violated their right to speedy disposition of cases.

The accused argued that the complaint was filed on 13 February 2015, yet the Ombudsman came up with a resolution only on 23 August 2023, then subsequently filed the information before the Sandiganbayan on 24 October of the same year.

Garin was sued by the Ombudsman for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) for the anomalous purchase of Dengvaxia vaccines worth P3.57 billion from the pharmaceutical giant Sanofi Pasteur in 2015.

Aside from Garin, also indicted were ex-DoH supply chain management director Joyce Ducusin, former Undersecretary Gerardo Bayugo, former Undersecretary Kenneth Hartigan-Go, and Philippine Children’s Medical Center executive director Julius Lecciones.

The Ombudsman said they “willfully, unlawfully and feloniously” caused the release of P3.57 billion of public funds to increase the budget for the Expanded Program for Immunization, which was used for the purchase of Dengvaxia, which allegedly not part of the EPI.

The Dengvaxia, the Ombudsman alleged, was not even listed in Volume 1 of the Philippine National Drug Formulary in violation of Executive Order No. 49 series of 1993 and related administrative orders and issuances to the damage of public service.

In denying the motions, the Sandiganbayan ruled that the drawn-out process was reasonable and acceptable given that the cases originally had 42 respondents who were all allowed to answer the charges against them and the complexities of the issues that required careful study and consideration of voluminous documents submitted in the course of the investigation.

“The Court finds that the length of time spent by both the DoJ and the Office of the Ombudsman before issuing the resolutions that culminated in the filing of the cases in court is reasonable and acceptable,” the Sandiganbayan said.