Dengvaxia victims’ parents continue quest for justice

Dengvaxia victims’ parents continue quest for justice | Daily Tribune

Parents of school children who died after getting a shot of Dengvaxia vaccine have renewed their vow to fight for justice.

“The fight is not over. We will not give up,” Sumachen Dominguez, president of the Samahan ng mga Magulang, Anak at Biktima ng Dengvaxia (SMABD), declared on Tuesday.

“We avoid to say anything (about it) on social media since the cases are already at the proper venues,” she said in Filipino.

Dominguez belied claims by some quarters that the criminal, civil and administrative cases they filed before Quezon City courts and the Sandiganbayan against former Department of Health secretary and now Iloilo representative Janette Garin and several doctors have been dismissed.

She added that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) sought to revive the eight cases dismissed by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QCRTC).

Earlier, the kin of eight children who died due to Dengvaxia lauded the OSG for filing petitions for review on certiorari before the Court of Appeals.

The OSG petition challenges the QCRTC’s dismissal of the criminal charges filed against 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.

It 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.

The parents group also lauded Supreme Court Assistant Court Administrator Lilian Barribal-Co for ordering the QCRTC-Branch 102 to set a pre-trial conference on the 35 other Dengvaxia cases.

Out of the 100 criminal complaints, 82 of them were already resolved by the Department of Justice for filing, while 18 others already dismissed had been the subject of petitions for review.

On the other hand, out of the counterpart civil cases of the 169 criminal cases, 158 were already filed before the QCRTC-Branch 226 Judge Manuel Sta. Cruz, the SMABD said.

Dominguez reiterated that the criminal case filed before the Sandiganbayan by the National Bureau of Investigation was still pending trial after the anti-graft court’s denial of a motion to quash filed by Garin and the other respondents.

A complaint was also filed by Atty. Ferdinand Topacio against Garin before the Office of the Ombudsman that ordered the filing of the case at the Sandiganbayan for the procurement of P3.5 billion worth of Dengvaxia vaccines in 2015 for a school-based immunization program.

“With the commonality of allegations in the complaints involving the same parties, social media posts, and subject matter, Respondent moves for the immediate consolidation of the instant case with the subsequently filed criminal actions for cyberlibel with prayer for civil damages, as mandated by Sections 21 and 22 of A.M. No. 08-1-16-SC,” Fortun’s motion stated.

Fortun also argued that the consolidation would prevent unnecessary delays and ensure a more efficient and just resolution of the legal issues involved.