The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines — The much-delayed Dengvaxia case will now likely go full blast after a Quezon City court judge turned down the motions filed by former Health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin and other co-accused to dismiss the multiple cases for reason of "double jeopardy," among others, according to the public prosecutors. In an April 28, 2026 order, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times, Judge Michael Ken de Jesus, of Regional Trial Court-Branch 102, denied several motions to quash (or to dismiss the case) filed by the defense lawyers for lack of merit. “In sum, the attempt to shoehorn (‘to force to be included or admitted’) the Dengvaxia mass immunization program into the narrow confines of the Ivler doctrine is factually unavailing and legally untenable,” de Jesus said. The defense panel argued that the 35 cases currently being handled by de Jesus were no different from the first batch of eight cases which were dismissed by another family court judge, hence, its claim of double jeopardy. The prosecution panel had insisted that the cases were separate and distinct from one another as the over 100 children, who all died after they were vaccinated with the banned anti-dengue vaccine, had different medical conditions. Illustrating the "glaring fact" between a vehicular collision in the Jason Ivler vs Modesto-San Pedro case and "multiple, distinct acts of medical inoculate" in the Dengvaxia case, the judge said Ivler committed a singular act of driving his vehicle recklessly at a specific moment in time. But in the Dengvaxia case, there were "continuous repeated acts" and while the policy (mass vaccination) was singular, the proximate acts of negligence, the alleged indiscriminate administration of the vaccine without proper screening, were repeatedly committed with every individual injection, the family court judge said. “The alleged reckless imprudence did not solely materialize in a room or place during the procurement or licensing phase; it materialized upon the actual administration of the vaccine to an unsuspecting child,” de Jesus pointed out. Aware that the rule against double jeopardy was intended as a safeguard to protect an accused from "vexatious and repetitive prosecutions," however, he said: “the doctrine was never meant to serve as a shield against accountability for separate acts of negligence committed against different victims at different times.” Explaining that a motion to quash is neither a mini trial nor a proper vehicle to evaluate medical findings, weigh expert opinions or determine the cause of death, the judge said that it would be a matter of evidence “that must be rigorously tested during a full-blown trial on the merits.” The vaccine, procured by the Department of Health for P3.5 billion for a nationwide jab campaign in 2015, was allegedly not evaluated thoroughly for safety and efficacy, leading to the deaths of many children, according to the findings of several health experts and the Forensics Laboratory Division of the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO). Aside from Garin, her other co-accused were top executives of vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur Inc. and vaccine distributor Zuellig Pharma, and officials of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, and Food and Drug Administration. Charged with multiple reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, Garin and her co-accused were also facing civil cases before the Quezon City court. The other respondents were Kenneth Hartigan-Go, Vincent Belizario, Gerardo Bayugo, Irma Asuncion, Julius Lecciones, Mario Baquilod, Sonia Gonzales, Lourdes Santiago, Melody Zamudio, Socorro Lupisan, Maria Rosario Capeding, Carlito Realuyo, Conchita Santos, Maria Joyce Ducusin and Rosalind Vianzon, said to be all medical practitioners. Under the stewardship of its chief, Persida Rueda-Acosta, PAO has been providing legal assistance to the parents and relatives belonging to the Samahan ng mga Magulang ang mga Anak ay Biktima ng Dengvaxia (SMABD) particularly in the civil cases.
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