A health form advocate on Friday hailed the revival of eight Dengvaxia cases dismissed by a Quezon City court.

The Office of the Solicitor General has petitioned to challenge the Quezon City Regional Trial Court’s dismissal of eight criminal charges filed against former Health Secretary, now Iloilo representative, Janette Garin, and other respondents, including former 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.

Witness for the prosecution, Dr. Tony Leachon, lauded the revival, stating that being one of the prosecution’s witnesses “is a fight he has taken, not because it is easy, but because it is necessary.”

“The question we need to ask right now is, ‘Why are they so intent on silencing those who speak the truth? Why are they so afraid of accountability?’,” Leachon said.

When asked if he thinks the revival of Dengvaxia cases could once again erode public trust in vaccines, Leachon responded, “I don’t think so.”

Leachon noted that proceeding with the Dengvaxia cases “will uncover the truth about alleged corruption in the procurement process.”

“Trust will be restored if we prosecute these unscrupulous individuals, so they will not perpetuate this huge malady,” he added.

The vaccine was procured by the Department of Health (DOH) for P3.5 billion for a nationwide vaccination campaign.

The DOH launched the vaccination campaign in 2016 after becoming the first Asian country to approve the commercial sale of Dengvaxia.

At least 700,000 schoolchildren from Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The program was stopped in 2017 when French drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur advised the government that the vaccine could put previously uninfected people at a somewhat higher risk of severe dengue fever through antibody-dependent enhancement.