DOJ vows fair resolution of Duque’s Dengvaxia raps
The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday vowed a fair resolution of the criminal charges against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III involving the deaths attributed to the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine despite the reported Palace pronouncement that these will not prosper.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra gave assurance that the charges of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and violations of the AntiTorture Act and Consumer Act against Duque would be resolved based on the evidence at hand with consideration of the reported opinion of President Duterte.
He said the Palace would not have a hand in the upcoming resolution of the DOJ on the charges against Duque and other respondents, including former health secretary Janette Garin.
Guevarra confirmed that the President, a former prosecutor himself, has expressed the opinion during the Cabinet meeting last Wednesday that the complaints filed by the families of Dengvaxia victims against Duque “will not prosper” because it involves “a battle of medical experts.”
He clarified that the President only said it in response to Duque’s concern on the issue and not as an instruction for the DOJ to dismiss the criminal charges against the health secretary.
“The President merely expressed a personal opinion in reaction to Sec. Duque’s statement that PAO chief Acosta had relentlessly filed cases against him in connection with the Dengvaxia controversy,” the DOJ chief explained in a text message.
“In fairness to the President, he has never interfered in the discharge of the DOJ’s functions and responsibilities, including the resolution of the Dengvaxia cases,” he stressed.
Guevarra said he also explained to the President the status of the Dengvaxia cases before the DOJ, which he recently said would be resolved within this month.
“I informed the President that the DOJ investigating panels were studying these cases very carefully, as these cases involved not only Sec. Duque but, more importantly, the interest of the general public,” he added.
He explained that he himself has no hand in the resolution of the Dengvaxia cases, at least for now.
I also don’t have any hand in the preliminary investigation. My office only steps in when there is a petition for review filed before the DOJ challenging the resolution of the investigating prosecutors. That’s the process we follow in DOJ,” he pointed out.
Guevarra issued the clarification after presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo made public the President’s opinion last Thursday.
Panelo revealed that Duterte told Duque during the Cabinet meeting not to worry about the criminal charges because they “will not prosper.”
The health chief has been claiming that the complaints against him lacked merit and were “meant to distract” him from his work of “looking after” children who received Dengvaxia shots.
He also said Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta’s “baseless claims and accusations” led to the “decline in vaccine confidence and a rise in cases of measles and other vaccine preventable diseases.”
Acosta already denied Duque’s allegation, saying it is the health department that should be blamed for failing to effectively campaign for immunization on measles.
She stressed that the Dengvaxia cases have nothing to do with the measles outbreak.
The Palace and the DOJ both defended Acosta, saying she is just doing her task of building cases against those liable for the Dengvaxia mess.
The allegation against Acosta came after the House committees on good government and public accountability and on health recommended the filing of graft, technical malversation and civil charges against former president Benigno Aquino III, former budget secretary Butch Abad, Garin and several other officials over the controversial dengue vaccination program.
The DOJ is expected to resolve this month the first batch of cases involving nine schoolchildren — Aejay Bautista, Angelica Pestilos, Lenard Baldonado, Zandro Colite, Abbie Hedia, Jansyn Bataan, Mark Axel Ebonia, Rey Justin Almagno and Alexander Jaime—which are among the 32 cases filed so far in the DOJ.
The DOJ has already completed the preliminary investigation on the second batch of cases involving eight alleged victims identified as Clarissa Alcantara, Christine Mae de Guzman, Erico Leabres, Roshaine Cariño, Naomi Nimura, John Paul Rafael, Michael Tablate and Christine Joy Asuncion.
It has also just started its preliminary investigation on the third batch—the cases of alleged victims Wiljen Alcontin, Eleazar Brigoli Jr., Trishanne Asona, EJ Christian Apa, Joaniña Cortes, Gladimeir Juevesano, Kianah Mae Racuya, Adeline Castroverde, Jessica Viaros, Senior Police Officer 2 Vicente Arugay, Shiela Mae Guerra, Gillian Vasquez and Kristen Jean Martira.
Two more cases were recently filed with the DOJ involving the deaths of 39-yearold medical doctor Kendric Gotoc and 12-year-old student Zarah Mae de Luna from Quezon.
In all 32 complaints, Garin and others were accused of negligence for their failure to obtain the consent and inform the Dengvaxia recipients and their parents or families of the dangers and risks related to the vaccine.
The complainants cited the failure of the health department under Garin to conduct proper screening of Dengvaxia recipients and implement active and aggressive monitoring and surveillance.
Garin and other respondents have persistently denied criminal liabilities in the deaths of the schoolchildren inoculated with the anti-dengue vaccine, arguing that the direct link of the deaths to the vaccine has not been scientifically established.