A Quezon City trial court judge will issue a ruling on the defense panel’s claim that the civil cases on Dengvaxia deaths have already prescribed or expired.

Judge Manuel Sta. Cruz Jr. of Quezon City Regional Trial Court-Branch 226 assured all concerned parties that he would “soon” begin the pre-trial proceedings, which were supposedly set Wednesday, to resolve the affirmative defense raised by lawyers of the accused, particularly the vaccine distributor Zuellig Pharma.

An affirmative defense, in legal parlance, is a strategy employed by a defendant in both civil and criminal cases wherein credible evidence or motions introduced could negate liability even if the alleged acts are proven.

Lawyers of the accused argued that the charges have expired, noting that a civil case for damages with reckless imprudence has a prescriptive period of four years, and therefore, the cases should be dismissed.

However, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO), handling the 163 civil cases filed by parents and relatives of children whose deaths were linked to the banned anti-dengue vaccine, said otherwise.

Deputy Chief Public Attorney Ana Lisa Soriano and Atty. Evelyn Ramos-Dacpano, PAO-National Capital Region director, told the QC judge that the cases have not yet prescribed.

“From the defense, they said it has already prescribed as they based their argument on the period when the inoculation was made. But on our end, it’s four years after death or after the results of the forensic examinations,” Soriano and Dacpano said outside the courtroom.

The judge assured the opposing parties that he would first rule on the affirmative defenses so the pre-trial proceedings could commence without further delay.

He also emphasized that all summons for the 163 cases should be fully served before the pre-trial proceeds. To prevent further delays, the summons will now be addressed to the respective counsels of the opposing parties.

The judge began setting the hearing after the Court of Appeals (CA) reaffirmed its previous decision favoring the QC-RTC ruling that consolidated the Dengvaxia civil cases into one family court.

In its 16 July 2025 resolution, the CA’s Former Special Seventh Division said the RTC did not commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it consolidated the cases.

It explained that the purpose of consolidation is to avoid multiplicity of suits, guard against oppression and abuse, prevent delays, clear congested dockets, and simplify the work of the trial court.

“In short, consolidation aims to attain justice with the least expense and vexation to the parties-litigants,” it said.

During the hearing Wednesday, more than six parents and relatives waited outside the courtroom, expecting the pre-trial to begin. They left in dismay when they learned the pre-trial had been reset and the exact date was yet to be announced.

The principal accused in the Dengvaxia cases is former Department of Health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin.