Another criminal complaint has been filed against former health secretary Janette Garin and 36 others before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for the death of an 11-year-old boy inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine.
Aside from Garin, health officials facing a complaint for reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and for violating Section 15 of Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture act were Dr. Vicente Belizario, Jr., Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go, Dr. Gerardo Bayugo, Dr. Lydon Lee Suy, Dr. Irma L. Asuncion, Dr. Julius A. Lecciones, Dr. Joyce Ducusin, Rosalind Vianzon, Mario S. Baquilod, Dr. Socorro P. Lupisan, Dr. Maria Rosario Z. Capeding, Dr. Maria Lourdes C. Santiago, and Melody Zamudio.
Also included in the complaint were executives from the manufacturer of the Dengvaxia vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur Inc. and the local distributor, Zuellig Pharma Corporation.
Garin and the other respondents were accused of negligence through “arbitrarily, maliciously, and deliberately failure to inform the Dengvaxia recipients and their parents/families of the dangers and risks related to Dengvaxia and to obtain their informed consent.”
The complaint noted the Department of Health’s (DOH) failure to conduct proper screening of Dengvaxia recipients and to implement active and aggressive monitoring and surveillance of recipients, considering the risks posed by the vaccine to those who had no previous dengue exposure.
“Simply put, based on the admissions and declarations of respondent Sanofi Pasteur Inc., if Dengvaxia is administered to a person who has not yet contracted dengue, that person will have a greater risk of developing severe disease, which would have been otherwise had Dengvaxia not been administered upon him,” the complaint pointed out.
The complainant is Manuel and Kristina Ramirez, the aunt and uncle of John Paul R. Rafael who was inoculated with Dengvaxia on March 31, 2016. He died 11 days later or on April 11, 2016 due to congenital heart disease.
However, forensic examination showed that Rafael also had “common signs and symptoms of deaths following vaccination of Dengvaxia… including brain hemorrhage and internal bleeding in other organs.”
The Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO) has already submitted its reply to the affidavits filed by Garin and other respondents on the first nine complainants for the deaths of Aejay Bautista, Angelica Pestilos, Lenard Baldonado, Zandro Colite, Abbie Hedia, Jansyn Bataan, Mark Axel Ebonia, Rey Justin Almagno and Alexander Jaime.
READ: Garin: Raps filed by parents of alleged Dengvaxia victims ‘have no scientific basis’
The DOJ investigating panel chaired by Assistant State Prosecutor Maria Emilia Victorio set the next hearing for August 30 for the filing of rejoinder by the respondents before submitting the case for resolution.
This is the 12th complaint filed by the PAO over the Dengvaxia mess. /ee
READ: Garin, others tell DOJ: Drop Dengvaxia case