Janette Garin strikes back: 4 Dengvaxia critics sued for libel

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BY CAROLYN JANE ABELLO
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Saturday, February 24, 2018
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ILOILO City – Former Health secretary Janette Garin charged with libel her predecessor at the Department of Health (DOH) Dr. Paulyn Jean Rosell Ubial and three other doctors for issuing statements that she deemed maligned her.

Herself a physician, Garin filed her complaint yesterday at the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutor’s Office, Chief Justice Ramon Q. Avanceña Hall of Justice on Bonifacio Drive.

Ubial is a fierce critic of Garin for hastily pushing through in 2016 a school-based anti-dengue vaccination program using Dengvaxia vaccine.

November last year, pharmaceutical company Sanofi Pasteur said those inoculated with Dengvaxia but never had a prior dengue infection could suffer from a severe form of the illness.

Over 800,000 schoolchildren have been vaccinated with Dengvaxia since 2016. Angry parents took Garin to task for imperiling their children’s health while those whose children died claimed the deaths were due to the vaccine.

Garin specifically accused Ubial of violating Article 353 of the Revised Penal Code and Republic Act 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012).

Charged with Ubial were Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, former DOH undersecretary; health reform advocate Dr. Anthony Leachon; and Dr. Francis Cruz, former DOH consultant.

“They have been persistently maligning not only me but other officials of DOH,” Garin told reporters yesterday after filing her complaint.

She also blamed the four doctors for fanning public hysteria and disrupting DOH’s other public health programs such as vaccination for other diseases.

On Ubial, Garin said: “She is giving wrong information. She makes allegations and makes stories up.”

During a Senate investigation in December last year, Ubial claimed Garin’s husband, Cong. Richard Garin (1st District, Iloilo), pressured her as then DOH secretary to buy more Dengvaxia vaccines.

Ubial believed her reticence resulted to her non-confirmation in the Commission on Appointments.

“Instead nga mag-move on sya, nagbinutig tana kag ginpakalain indi lang ako kundi ang bilog nga departamento,” said Garin.

The former Health chief reiterated that her “conscience is clear.” She attached in her complaint a compact disc with saved copies and clippings of interviews of Ubial and the other officials as evidence.

Citing a report at the website Pinoy Trending News, Garin said Herbosa issued statements against her like the following:

* “She clearly does not know the process of research and drug registration.”

* “Didn’t she admit already she discussed the pricing of the vaccine in May 2015 in Paris with wine and dinner?”

* “Is there anyone still believing this person? She is caught with her hand in the cookie jar! We all know who stole the cookies.”

According to Garin, Herbosa had also been “posting a lot of libelous accusations against me. Daw ginapagwa niya nga probinsyana ako, daw wala ako nabal-an.”

On the other hand, Garin said, Cruz tagged her as a “mafia” at DOH.

Cruz claimed that of the P3.556-billion fund allotted for Dengvaxia procurement, P556 million was lost to corruption.

“Nag press conference siya. Nagpakita siya sang mga dokumento. Natingala kami because that was a big lie,” said Garin.

She added, “When (current Health) Secretary (Francisco) Duque was up for confirmation (in the Commission on Appointments) and ginpamangkot, sya mismo nagsiling indi matood. Ang P556 million were in fact DOH savings that we got for the procurement of the dengue vaccine.”

Meanwhile, said Garin, Leachon’s statements caused unnecessary public fear. She also questioned his competence to issue expert opinion on vaccination.

“His personal opinion will remain a personal opinion. Kada topiko, let’s say infectious diseases or immunization, requires a certain set or level of competencies. He doesn’t have that for infectious diseases,” said Garin.

“Rako siya sang ginabuhian nga sugilanon. Ang mga pumuluyo nagakakulbaan, nagapati, and this is wrong,” she added.

Leachon said Garin should be liable for the Dengvaxia mess due to the “magnitude of her involvement” in sealing the P3-billion vaccine deal with Sanofi.

Garin denied she negotiated the price of the dengue vaccines with Sanofi.

Due to the Dengvaxia controversy, DOH suspended its anti-dengue vaccination program December last year.

Dengvaxia was also pulled out from the market./PN
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