FORMER Health Secretary and now Iloilo First District Rep. Janette Garin clarified on Saturday that she had posted bail and that no warrant of arrest had been issued against her over a case in connection with the Dengvaxia-related deaths of two schoolchildren.
Garin was reacting to the recent Omnibus Order released by Judge Jose Bautista Jr. of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC RTC) Branch 107 on November 18.
The court order stated it “finds that probable cause exists to issue a warrant of arrest against all accused” in the case of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide for the deaths of Marc-Axl Eboña and Zandro Colite.
While the court noted that some of the accused had filed cash bonds, it said its record showed that Garin and Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur Inc. executives Stanislas Camart, Jean Louis Grunwald and Jean Francois Vacherand have not yet filed their bail bonds.
“They are directed to inform the Court if they have already filed their bail bond in other Courts and furnish this Court a copy of the Courts order approving their bond so that the Court can likewise approve the same without them filing a new bail bond within 3 days from receipt of this order, otherwise a warrant of arrest will be issued against them,” the Court order stated.
Garin said the court was only seeking clarification and proof if bail bonds had been filed.
“Bail bonds posted early last year. Cases dismissed late last year with only Imus Cavite left.
The QC RTC can’t find Muntinlupa hence the clarification,” Garin told The Manila Times.
“The court document also noted that the bail bonds posted before Muntinlupa City; Imus, Cavite and other courts are already considered filed before the Quezon City court. If the Court missed my records, I will furnish them a copy of my documents,” Garin said in a separate statement.
The court had set the arraignment, pretrial conference and preliminary conference on November 27.
Eboña’s family had filed the case before the Muntinlupa court while Colite’s family filed in Imus, Cavite, but both are now under the jurisdiction of the QC RTC.
Garin clarified that “no warrant of arrest has been issued.”
“Walang katotohanan na kami o ako ay pinapahuli sapagkat sumusunod ang ating mga korte at mga hukom sa proseso ng tunay na hustisya (There is no truth that we or I have been ordered for arrest because our courts and justices are following the process of true justice),” she said.
Garin reiterated her stand that the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia was effective and could not cause deaths and pointed out that the first batch of Dengvaxia-related cases against them had been dismissed.
She said in Filipino that it cannot be discounted that Dengvaxia is “continuously being used worldwide because it is effective.”
“Science has proven that the vaccine did not and could not cause deaths. Only in the Philippines do we believe dramatic lawyers and fake pathologists over real doctors and scientists,” she added.
Garin also appealed to the public not to “demonize” vaccines, especially during the time of the coronavirus disease when immunization is needed to bring the country back to normal.