Judge inhibits from handling dengvaxia case

MANILA, Philippines — Despite a motion by defense lawyers to stay put, a Quezon City trial court judge decided to inhibit himself from further handling the second batch of 35 Dengvaxia cases. Judge Cleto Villacorta 3rd, of Regional Trial Court Branch 229, issued a "final" order dated Sept. 27, 2024, a copy of which was obtained by The Manila Times, recusing himself from handling the other Dengvaxia cases filed before his sala. "With both my and prosecution's subjective assessments, two subtests already favor the existence of just and valid grounds for the plea to recuse myself," he said. Actually, Villacorta had inhibited himself from handling the first batch of eight cases and supposedly the pre-trial of the second batch of 35 cases but the August 22 order he issued was put on hold after the lawyers of principal accused, former Health secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, and co-respondents, filed a motion in their bid to keep him as its presiding judge. In filing the motion for inhibition, the panel of prosecutors led by City Prosecutor Vimar Barcellano and Deputy Chief Prosecutor Irene Resurreccion-Medrano accused the judge of being "selective" hence his "failure to consider the evidence of the prosecution in its entirety." Moreover, the prosecutors said Villacorta could already prejudge the outcome of the pending 35 cases since the evidence and arguments they would present would be the same from the first batch of eight cases which he had already dismissed except for one case involving Dr. Mario Baquilod. Citing an objective assessment, the judge asked: "What would a reasonable person having knowledge of all the factual and legal background of the present case or cases think of the presence of absence of prejudgement on my part?" "A reasonable person will see prejudgment of the next 35 or so criminal cases plus the one against Dr. Baquilod because of the outcome of my resolution in the first eight criminal cases," Villacorta said. "Further, a reasonable person adheres to the principles of parity, consistency and transparency. The reasonable person will say that I must follow my prior evaluations already made and circulated," he added. Considering the identical result of the three components of the balancing tests - judge-centered subjective assessment, litigant-centered subjective assessment and objective assessment - Villacorta ruled that "there are just and valid grounds for my earlier order to recuse myself." Thus on the motion of the prosecution, the family court judge reiterated that he was inhibiting himself from further hearing the eight and 35 Dengvaxia cases. To recall, the prosecutors questioned the judge's decision rejecting vital witnesses particularly Dr. Erwin Erfe and Dr. Tony Leachon whom he (Villacorta) ruled to be unqualified as expert witnesses. "With all due respect, the honorable judge chose to close his eyes due to the overwhelming evidence presented to prove that the children were all inoculated with the Dengvaxia vaccine; and despite the admission of Sanofi Pasteur Inc. (vaccine maker) of the identified risks associated with Dengvaxia, which are consistent with the findings of Dr. Erfe," Barcellano and Resurreccion-Medrano said. The prosecutors said the inhibition of the judge from handling the case would be the best way to "afford the prosecution an opportunity to present its evidence before a magistrate who was not only fair and impartial but who actually appears without any doubt to be fair and impartial." The branch clerk of court has been directed to forward the case records to the Office of the Clerk of Court for re-raffling.