VACC hits Garin for 'lying' on Dengvaxia case

ADVOCACY group Volunteers against Crime and Corruption (VACC) on Monday assailed former Health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin for «misleading» the public when she claimed that the court has acquitted her and her co-accused in the Dengvaxia case.

VACC president Arsenio «Boy» Evangelista told The Manila Times that the recent decision of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 229 finding Garin and her co-accused not guilty was only for the initial batch of cases involving eight schoolchildren «who died after being inoculated with Dengvaxia vaccine.»

«But her press release made it appear that she was already absolved of the crime along with other co-accused, which was on the contrary because she was still the principal accused of other Dengvaxia cases filed against her and others,» he said.

Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin. File Photo

According to the ruling, as cited in the press release, «The prosecution evidence failed to establish a prima facie case against Garin, and Julius Lecciones.»

But the VACC said that they were the primary companion of the parents, whose children died allegedly due to the controversial anti-dengue vaccine, especially during their sufferings and mourning, referring to the pending 35 Dengvaxia cases also filed before a Quezon City court.

«We have still more 160 Dengvaxia cases that were filed before the Department of Justice which is expected to file the same to a family court in Quezon City which was designated by the Supreme Court to exclusively handle and try all Dengvaxia-related cases,» Evangelista said.

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He said the group of the parents of the schoolchildren and the prosecution panel already questioned the Branch 229's decision before the Court of Appeals (CA), especially the granting of demurrer to evidence to the accused led by Garin.

A statement from Garin's camp said that Branch 229 Judge Cleto Villacorta III dismissed the criminal charges against her and co-accused due to the failure of the prosecution to provide sufficient evidence against them.

Also, the court noted that the prosecution's witnesses were not real experts to offer an opinion on Dengvaxia.

There were actually no experts for a vaccine that was