A QUEZON City Regional Trial Court (QC-RTC) judge has set a schedule for the hearing of Dengvaxia cases following a Supreme Court order to commence trial of the second batch of 35 cases.

RTC Branch 102 Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert set the hearing on March 25 for several motions and counter-motions filed by the defense and prosecution panels.

A court insider clarified that the judge would not yet tackle the merits of the cases as she has first to focus on the motions filed by the two opposing parties.

Earlier this year, Supreme Court Assistant Court Administrator Lilian Barribal-Co directed the family court judge to commence with the trial for the 35 criminal cases.

Late last year, another Quezon City judge, Cleto Villacorta III of Branch 229, dismissed the first batch of eight cases citing the "failure of the prosecution to establish a prima facie case against the accused."

The Office of the Solicitor General has since opposed the Villacorta ruling and filed a petition for certiorari for review before the Court of Appeals citing the "judge's grave abuse of discretion," among others.

Citing an Office of the Court Administrator circular, the high tribunal official said that judges designated to hear an inhibited case or to whom the case was re-raffled "cannot raise the issue of propriety of the exercise of the discretion of judges to disqualify themselves under Section 1 or 2 of Rule 137."

Rule 137, specifically Sections 1 and 2, outlines the mandatory and discretionary disqualification of judges.

"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.

Barribal-Co further said that the rules on voluntary inhibition did not give judges "the unfettered discretion to desist from hearing a case."

In view of the foregoing and in accordance with an OCA circular, Barribal-Co reiterated that Burgos-Villavert "should try and hear the Dengvaxia cases."

In particular, Burgos-Villavert was expected to rule, following the scheduled hearing, on the motion to quash information based on double jeopardy by two of the accused — Carlito Realuyo and Conchita Santos, both vaccine maker Sanofi Pasteur Inc. executives — as well as the prosecution's comment/opposition.

Similar motions to quash/dismiss filed by other respondents, namely Dr. Rosalind Vianzon, Maria Lourdes Santiago and Dr. Maria Rosario Capeding, were also in order for discussions on the same set date, the court branch said.

Led by the principal accused, former Department of Health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, the other accused who were facing criminal and civil cases include the top executives of vaccine distributor Zuellig Pharma and officials of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, Philippine Children's Medical Center, and Food and Drug Administration.