MANILA — Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) Commissioner Manuelito Luna on Friday said he will withdraw as one of the complainants in the case against former president Benigno Aquino III, former Cabinet officials, and other former and incumbent officials of the Department of Health (DOH) in connection with the dengue vaccine Dengvaxia controversy.
Luna, a former counsel of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), said he will be formally filing on Monday a motion, informing his withdrawal as complainant before the Department of Justice (DOJ) panel of prosecutors conducting the preliminary investigation on the case.
He said that he will be replaced as VACC counsel in the case by former Biliran Rep. Glenn Chiong.
Last February 12, Luna filed the complaint along with the VACC and the Vanguard of the Philippine Constitution, Inc. (VPCI).
Luna said his withdrawal was in response to the accusations hurled against him by Aquino.
“So to satisfy him (Aquino) and the public that I am not throwing my weight around and in fairness to everybody, including the panel, it would be out of delicadeza and a better policy for me to formally withdraw as private complainant in this case,” he said.
“I’ll be withdrawing my being a private complainant in this case so as not to cause some doubts in the regularity and fairness of the proceedings and also in fairness of the respondents,” Luna told reporters after the complainants submit their reply-affidavits before the DOJ panel of prosecutors during the preliminary hearing of the case.
During the hearing, the panel gave the respondents in the case up to July 20 to file their respective rejoinders.
Aside from Aquino, former budget secretary Florencio Abad, former health secretary Janette Garin and 44 other respondents are facing charges for possible violation of Section 3 of Republic Act (RA) No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act); Section 65 of RA 9184 (Government Procurement, Reform Act); Article 220 (Technical Malversation) of the Revised Penal Code; and Article 365 (Criminal Negligence) of the Revised Penal Code.
Also named as respondents are DOH undersecretaries Carol Tanio, Gerardo Bayugo, Lilibeth David and Mario Villaverde; and assistant secretaries Lyndon Lee Suy and Nestor Santiago; health department’s Financial Management Service director Laureano Cruz; directors Dr. Joyce Ducusin, Dr. May Wynn Belo, Dr. Leonila Gorgolon, Dr. Rio Magpantay, Dr. Ariel Valencia and Dr. Julius Lecciones; retired health undersecretaries Dr. Nemesio Gako, Dr. Vicente Belizario Jr., and Dr. Kenneth Hartigan-Go; and Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, who served as Garin’s head executive assistant.
Other named as respondents are officials and employees of the pharmaceutical company Zuellig, which supplied the Dengvaxia vaccine; and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine manufacturer. (PNA)
