The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) has appealed the order of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin C. Remulla on the withdrawal of the Dengvaxia cases filed in court against former health secretary and now Iloilo First District Rep. Janette L. Garin and two other former officials of the Department of Health (DOH).
The PAO, which represents the families of the dead children who received the anti-dengue Dengvaxia vaccine, filed a motion for reconsideration on Monday, Jan. 27.
It sought the reversal of Remulla's Jan. 10 resolution which granted the petition for review of Garin, former DOH undersecretary Dr. Gerardo V. Bayugo and former assistant secretary Dr. Ma. Joyce U. Ducusin to dismiss the charges of multiple counts of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide on the deaths of 98 minors who got Dengvaxia vaccinations.
“We humbly implore the Honorable Secretary of Justice to timely rectify the Resolution subject of this Motion for Reconsideration in order to avoid further injustice and impunity of the guilty respondents. The leaking blood and deaths of the multiple victims are crying and shouting for justice and due care,” PAO said in its motion for reconsideration.
It disagreed with Remulla that there is no prima facie case with reasonable certainty of conviction.
“From the records, the declaration of Sanofi, facts as gathered in different medical literatures and as result of the investigation conducted both by the Congress and of the Senate, it is apparent that there was undue haste in the implementation of the Dengue Immunization Program of the DOH under the leadership of respondent Dr. Garin. It was indeed, a criminal act of experimentation on the lives of the victims,” it said.
“Similarly, Dengvaxia, being a new prescription vaccine, should have been dispensed by a pharmacist and administered under the strict supervision of a licensed doctor who can meticulously explain the nature and expected risks of the vaccine to the recipient, carefully evaluate the latter’s fitness to receive the vaccine, and address adverse events following immunization should it occur," it also said.
"Respondents (Garin, bayugo and Ducusin) deliberately failed to follow said procedure. conducted indiscriminate mass vaccination without blood test, informed consent, and disclosure the aforesaid four (4) SANOFI declared fatal expected risks and adverse effects. Therefore, Respondents' NEGLIGENCE is clearly established by concomitant circumstances surrounding the mass inoculation,” it added.
Having known the risks in using Dengvaxia which is being produced by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur, the PAO said: “Respondents should have entertained not only second thoughts but a lot of consideration prior to the implementation of the dengue immunization program” and instead “should have waited for the completion of the phases of clinical trials to make sure that the said vaccine is safe to be given to Filipino children.”
On Garin’s involvement, the PAO claimed that she “paved the way for the procurement of Dengvaxia by the Philippine Government, without which children will not be inoculated with Dengvaxia thru the anti-dengue mass vaccination program of the Department of Health (DOH).”
It also said:
“Her (Garin) service until 30 June 2016 is rendered irrelevant by the fact that there was undue haste in the licensing and purchase of Dengvaxia, as well as in the implementation of the Dengvaxia immunization program. She had direct participation in the negotiation, procurement, and administration of Dengvaxia within her term as Secretary of Health from 17 February 2015 to 30 June 2016.
"Even more apparent and appalling is her act of entering into a Memorandum of Agreement for the purchase of Dengvaxia on 23 June 2016, or just days before the end of her term.
"In this connection, it may not be amiss to mention that Dr. Garin, as the then Secretary of Health deliberately took over the management and supervision of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) on 5 May 2015, about the same time that she intentionally met with Sanofi officials in Paris, France. Soon after respondent Santiago’s assumption on 4 November 2015, the CPR for Dengvaxia was issued on 22 December 2015."
The PAO reminded that, as affirmed by Remulla, “Respondent Dr. Bayugo supervised the anti-dengue mass vaccination program and all programmatic end-users” and, because of this, “cannot disassociate himself from the haphazardly designed, planned, and implemented anti-dengue mass vaccination program.”
“As for Respondent Dr. Ducusin, her request for exemption of Dengvaxia from Executive Order No. 48, along with the participation of the other respondents, also paved the way for the procurement of Dengvaxia by the Philippine Government, without which children will not be inoculated with Dengvaxia thru the anti-dengue mass vaccination program of the DOH," it said.
"It is worthy to note that it was she Ducusin who put pressure on the PNDF (Philippine National Drug Formulary) to prioritize the review of Dengvaxia. The Senate hearing on 11 December 2017 revealed the apparent instruction to hasten the processing of PNDF, which should not have been the case as it undermines the review being conducted by the PNDF,” it added.
At the same time, the PAO said the evidence on record also belies Remulla’s ruling that Dengvaxia was purchased and distributed after a rigorous bidding process in accordance with existing laws.
“It is to be noted that the 2015 and 2016 General Appropriations Acts do not include the said 3.5 Billion pesos nor allocated the same for the questionable experimental dengue vaccine or Dengvaxia,” it added.