A QUEZON CITY trial court judge on Tuesday decided to reset anew the pre-trial hearing on the Dengvaxia criminal case, which involves former health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin as the principal accused, due to the unavailability of government prosecutors.
In an order, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times, Judge Michael Ken de Jesus, of Regional Trial Court-Branch 102, reset the April 7 pre-trial conference to April 28, 2026, at 8:30 a.m.
Previously, the judge set Tuesday’s hearing, which has been delayed several times due to various motions, particularly filed by the defense lawyers, after giving himself time to finalize the resolution of the parties’ pending motions.
The judge was referring to the motions to quash, particularly filed by the lawyers of Garin and other co-accused who had sought their dismissal altogether.
In its latest order, the family court judge said he has to reset the pre-trial conference after the manifestation of the city-based panel of prosecutors, who had to attend the 35th national convention of the Prosecutors’ League of the Philippines in Iloilo City on the same day.
Deputy City Prosecutor Irene Resurreccion-Medrano, who leads the prosecution team, requested to reset the criminal case’s pretrial hearing.
The defense panel argued that the 35 cases currently being handled by de Jesus were no different from the first batch of eight cases previously dismissed by another family court judge, hence the double jeopardy claim.
But the prosecution panel had said 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.
The QC judge has assured the concerned parties that the criminal cases would be tried under his sala as ordered by the Supreme Court, which designated the family court to handle Dengvaxia-related cases.
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).
Before de Jesus, Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert of the same branch handled the case. No reason was given for her replacement.
Since the cases were filed in 2016, at least five QC judges have taken turns handling the cases, but they were replaced for various reasons, including involuntary or voluntary inhibition.
Samahan ng mga Magulang ang mga Anak ay Biktima ng Dengvaxia (SMABD) President Sumachen Dominguez, interviewed by this newspaper, said her group was hopeful that the judge would no longer entertain any delaying tactics from the lawyers of Garin and her co-accused.
“We are continuously grieving for the untimely loss of our children over the years, and only justice is what we long for, for all of us to have peace of mind,” Dominguez said in Filipino.
“It has dragged on for years. Our quest for justice has already been delayed for years. Please pity us!” she added.
Aside from Garin, her other co-accused are 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 reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, Garin and her co-accused were also facing civil cases before the QC 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 medical practitioners.
Under the stewardship of PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, her office has been providing legal assistance to victims’ parents and relatives belonging to SMABD group, particularly in civil cases.