Garin slams PAO over Dengvaxia case efforts

Former health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin on Thursday cried foul over the relentless efforts of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to press charges against her in connection with the once highly controversial Dengvaxia vaccine.

In an interview, Garin lamented that the PAO has gone too far in pursuing the charges, citing supposed attempts to inhibit judges from further handling the case.

"The problem is that every time there is a hearing, or every time there would be a decision, and every time they are dismissed, the Public Attorney’s Office immediately inhibits the judges. They have done it several times," she said in Filipino.

"They will malign the judges just so they can get what they want, which is already an injustice," the lawmaker added.

In September last year, Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Cleto Villacorta III of Branch 299 recused himself from handling the remaining 35 Dengvaxia-related cases months after he rejected a petition to reverse his previous ruling that granted a demurrer to evidence to Garin and her co-accused.

A demurrer to evidence is a motion filed by the accused on the ground that the evidence adduced by the prosecution is insufficient for conviction.

Garin and her co-accused — medical researchers and physicians — are facing various criminal charges, all related to Dengvaxia.

Earlier this week, the Department of Justice dismissed 98 cases against Garin, Dr. Gerardo Bayugo, and Dr. Ma. Joyce Ducusin — former health undersecretary and Health officer-in-charge, respectively — due to the "absence of malicious intent" that they conspired with one another to commit reckless imprudence.

The PAO, however, petitioned the DOJ to reconsider its verdict, arguing that there is prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction against the three accused.

“The deaths of 170 children and adults due to the Dengvaxia vaccination speak for themselves. Respondents cannot evade the sword of justice and the rule of law through the present resolution of the DOJ,” the PAO said.

Garin was the DOH secretary when the government rolled out the Dengvaxia vaccine to public elementary schools across the country.

The vaccine was intended to immunize children against dengue and was administered to more than 700,000 pupils.

However, some children allegedly developed severe symptoms and subsequently died after receiving the shot.

Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi had warned that the vaccine may cause severe diseases in individuals who had not been previously infected with dengue.

In 2017, the Food and Drug Administration ordered the suspension of the sale, distribution, and marketing of the Dengvaxia vaccine, along with its withdrawal from the market.