DOH asks QC court to dismiss petition vs children vaccination

By: Tetch Torres-Tupas - 3 years ago

Pediatric vaccination in Navotas City. Image from Facebook/ Navoteño Ako-Navotas City PIO

MANILA, Philippines —The Department of Health (DOH), through the Office of the Solicitor-General (OSG) has asked the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to dismiss the petition that sought to stop the COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5 to 11.

Petitioners in the case are parents Dominic Almelor, a journalist who has a 7-year-old son; and Girlie Samonte, the mother of a seven-years-old and nine-years-old. They reportedly did not want their children to be included in the government’s COVID-19 vaccination program for children.

Samonte is also the mother of a child who got sick and was later diagnosed with AV-Malformation after reportedly being inoculated with Dengvaxia. The petitioners are represented by the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO).

In their petition, the parents urge the court to uphold “their right to consent (and necessarily, right to refuse consent to COVID-19 vaccination) in behalf of their children; and ultimately, protect life and health of the latter and other children similarly threatened of exposure to undue risks to their life and health.”

The petitioners are opposing Item No. 5, Annex A of DOH Memorandum No. 2022-0041, that provides for the exercise by the State of its parens patriae (parent of the nation), exercising parental authority on children ages 5-11 which means that if the parents do not want their children to get vaccinated but the child wants to, the State, through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be the one to give the consent.

READ: Court asked to stop COVID-19 vaccination of children aged 5 to 11

But government lawyers led by Solicitor General Jose Calida said the petitioners “are armed with nothing but bare allegations and speculations that do not carry any weight of credibility.”

The OSG cautioned the court in issuing restraining orders especially on matter that involves public health measures.

During their Feb. 8 hearing, it was reportedly made clear that “Item No. 5 has been completely rescinded by the DOH with the issuance of DOH Memorandum NO. 2022-0041-A dated Feb. 4, 2022. Thus, petitioners’ claim no longer has any leg to stand on.”

The OSG said there is no opportunity for the State to override the parental authority and give consent to the petitioners’ minor children.

“Petitioners are not at risk of suffering any grave and irreparable injury, because inoculation of their children is purely voluntary and dependent on their consent. If they do not wish to subject their children to whatever risks they believe to be associated with vaccination, they may simply choose not to have their children vaccinated. This vaccination is not mandatory. The government will not forcibly take their chidren and administer the vaccine to them,” the OSG said.

The petitioners also have no standing to invoke the rights to parental authority of other parents who were not petitioners in the case.

The OSG added that during the Feb. 8 hearing, the true reason behind the filing of the petition was reportedly made known—“oppose the entirety of the Government’s vaccination program for children aged 5-11.”

During the hearing, the petitioners harped on the supposed violation of the right to life of the Filipino children, aged 5-11, as a whole.

“Mere allegations of altruism or concern for the children of other parents is not enough to clothe petitioners with sufficient interest to pose a challenge to a presumed valid issuance, much less claim personal damage from it. Their legal standing versus the implementation of the assailed issuance must be concrete, personal, and based on facts, not vague and speculative,” the OSG said.

During the said hearing, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergiere said that there was no other program, as effective as the vaccination, that was being undertaken by the DOH to protect the children against COVID-19. A pediatric formulation of the Pfizer vaccine is reportedly being used on children aged 5-11.

She added that the scientific community, World Health Organization (WHO) and several medical organizations such the Philippine Medical Association (PMA) and the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) support the vaccination program for the children.

With or without the restraining order, the OSG said petitioners may opt to keep their children unvaccinated because the vaccination program by the government is voluntary. However, such freedom does not hold for parents who want their children vaccinated because with a restraining order, the parents have no other choice.

“They are forced to keep their children unprotected against their will and better judgment. They will forego vaccination, whose risks they judge to be minimal and acceptable, and instead be forced to accept the risks of COVID-19 and its complications for their children,” read the OSG’s comment and opposition.

EDV