A GROUP of parents whose children's deaths were linked to the Dengvaxia vaccine has slammed former Department of Health (DOH) secretary and now Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin for allegedly fooling the public into believing that the cases filed against her and her co-accused have been dismissed.

Members of the Samahan ng mga Magulang ang mga Anak ay Biktima ng Dengavaxia (SMABD) were enraged by Garin's public pronouncements that she and her co-respondents, led by Doctors Gerardo Bayugo and Ma. Joyce Ducusin, have been absolved of the criminal liability over the deaths of several school children inoculated with the anti-dengue vaccine.

Accused of wasting public funds worth P3.5 billion for the purchase of the vaccine banned later during the time of then-president Rodrigo Duterte and spearheading the mass vaccination in 2016 that resulted in the "untimely deaths" of the children, Garin even hailed a Quezon City family court and the Department of Justice (DOJ) for "exonerating" them from the controversial case.

Garin was referring to the first batch of eight cases dismissed by Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 229 Judge Cleto Villacorta III, and the Jan. 10, 2025 resolution of DOJ junking 98 similar complaints.

But the group led by Girlie Samonte, of Tondo, Manila, and Sumachen Dominguez, SMABD president, told The Manila Times that the case was far from over as the eight "dismissed" cases were subject of a motion for certiorari for review filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) before the Court of Appeals (CA).

The OSG said in the same motion that Villacorta "committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in issuing assailed orders granting respondents' demurrer to evidence and denying petitioner's subsequent motions for reconsideration despite the overwhelming evidence on record against respondents vis-à-vis well-established jurisprudence of the matter."

Also, they said the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) filed two motions for reconsideration before the DOJ "for patently ignoring and disregarding the fact that the 170 victims died simultaneously after vaccination although living in different places but all clearly manifested common patterns of clinical manifestations."

The respondents' reckless imprudence and disregard of the victims' life and safety are made even more glaring by their failure to perform surveillance and monitoring of the innocent and unsuspecting vaccines as mandated by the Food and Drug Administration and the Sanofi Pasteur Inc. (vaccine maker) undertaking based on its declaration, the PAO's motions said.

Dominguez and Samonte said Assistant Court Administrator Lilian Barribal-Co of the Supreme Court's Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) ordered Branch 102 Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert to begin with the trial of the second batch of 35 Dengvaxia cases.

"Thus, being the judge to whom the criminal cases mentioned above were re-raffled, it is incumbent upon Judge Burgos-Villavert to immediately take cognizance of the cases and try the same," Barribal-Co said.

The parents expressed frustration and outrage against Garin for allegedly using her influence and maximizing her resources to escape from "certain culpability."

Earlier this month, health reform advocate and former DOH adviser for non-communicable diseases Dr. Anthony Leachon exposed the alleged conflict of interest involving DOJ Undersecretary Jesse Andres, who currently has the control and supervision over the agency's National Prosecution Services (NPS).

Leachon said that Andres, who used to be Garin's personal lawyer, was said to have knowledge of the questioned DOJ resolution.

On Friday, Feb. 21, the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption led by national coordinator Annie Gabito and SMABD members held another lightning and peaceful rally in front of the DOJ building in Manila to press Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to reverse his resolution.