By Jeffrey Damicog
The Department of Justice (DOJ) will hopefully release this January the resolution of the second batch of complaints concerning the liability of those in the deaths of children who received shots of the anti-dengue vaccine Dengvaxia.
(Manila Bulletin)
“Yung second batch (the second batch) I think will be coming out soon,” said Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon, who revealed it could be released this January.
Fadullon disclosed that the draft of the resolution will have to pass through him first for review before submitting it for final approval to Prosecutor General (PG) Benedicto Malcontento.
“I will be submitting it from my end to the PG,” he noted.
It has already been over a year since the panel of prosecutors chaired by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Dacanay concluded the preliminary investigation on December 28, 2018 and declared it submitted for resolution.
“The period there is not clear. There is no fixed time when it should be or can be ,” explained Fadullon about the rules concerning the conducting of the preliminary investigation.
The complaints were filed by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) on behalf of the families of the alleged victims.
The second batch of complaints concerned the deaths of children Roshaine Carino, Christine Joy Asuncion, Clarissa Alcantara, Erico Mendoza Leabres, Christine Mae de Guzman, John Paul Rafael, Michael Tablate, and Naomi Nimura.
In second batch of complaints, the complainants accused the respondents of reckless imprudence resulting to homicide under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code; torture resulting in the death of a person in violation of Section 4(ii) and (14) in relation to Section 14(a)(1) and (5) of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009; torture committed against children in violation of Section 15 of the Anti-Torture Act of 2009; defective product in violation of Article 97 in relation to Article 100, in relation of Article 107 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines; and mislabeled product in violation of Article 89 in relation to 95 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines.
Those who have been named as respondents were former Health Secretary Janette Garin and Department of Health (DOH) officials, namely, Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, Dr. Gerardo Bayugo, Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, Dr. Irma Asuncion, Dr. Julius Lecciones, Dr. Joyce Ducusin, Rosalind Viianzon, and Mario Baquilod
Also named as respondents were Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials, Dr. Maria Lourdes Santiago and Melody Zamudio; officials of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) officials, Drs. Socorro Lupisan and Maria Rosario Capeding; and Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) official Dr. Sonia Gonzales and former official Dr. Raymundo Lo.
Executives of Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pastuer and local distributor Zuellig Pharma were also included as respondents.
Sanofi Pasteur executives named as respondents were Carlito Realuyo, Stanislas Camart, Jean Louis Grunwald, Jean-Francois Vacherand, Conchita Santos, Jazel Anne Calvo, Pearl Grace Cabali, and Marie Esther De Antoni.
While, those from Zuellig Pharma were Kasigod Jamias, Michael Becker, Ricardo Romulo, Imran Babar Chugtai, Rayumund Azurin, Nilo Badiola, John Stokes Davison, Marc Franck, Ashley Gerard Antonio, Ana Liza Peralta, Rosa Maria Chua, Danilo Cahoy, Manuel Concio III, Roland Goco, and Ma. Visitacion Barreiro.