OSG revival of Dengvaxia cases backed

The legal action taken by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to revive eight Dengvaxia cases dismissed by a Quezon City court has received full support from the relatives of the eight deceased schoolchildren.

Sumachen Dominguez, president of the Samahan ng mga Magulang, Anak at Biktima ng Dengvaxia, expressed the group’s support for Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra’s decision to file petitions for review on certiorari before the Court of Appeals.

The OSG petition challenges the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s dismissal of eight criminal charges filed against former Health Secretary, now Iloilo representative, Janette Garin and the other respondents, including 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.,” Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra’s petition read.

The OSG argued that the orders granting the demurrer to evidence filed by Garin and the other respondents were issued with grave abuse of discretion amounting to a lack or excess of jurisdiction.

It further stated that there was no appeal or any other plain, adequate, and speedy remedy in the ordinary course of law available against these orders.

Dominguez expressed relief at the OSG’s move to revive the junked cases. “We are elated to know that we, the parents, have an ally in the Office of the Solicitor General,” she said on Thursday.

Dominguez said they were deeply saddened when the cases they filed were dismissed by the Quezon City court.

In November 2017, Sanofi Pasteur Inc., the vaccine manufacturer, issued an official statement on its website admitting that its vaccine could lead to adverse effects in individuals with no previous dengue infection.

“Dengvaxia provides persistent protective benefits against dengue fever in those who had prior infection. For those not previously infected by the dengue virus, however, more cases of severe disease could occur following vaccination upon a subsequent dengue infection,” the statement read.

During Garin’s term, the Department of Health procured P3.5 billion worth of Dengvaxia vaccines for the mass vaccination of schoolchildren in public schools.