MANILA, Philippines — Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin on Wednesday asked the Department of Health to release to the public the latest updates on the 2019-nCov from the World Health Organization (WHO) to avoid creating panic among Filipinos by misinformation.
At a House hearing on the coronavirus, Garin asked the department to laymanize the medical terminologies pertaining to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) so that the public could easily understand the health anomaly.
“DOH should come out and say the current updates in the meeting at WHO in Geneva, kasi sila ngayon ang repertoire ng all messages from them (because they are now the repository of all messages from them). So they know it, but unang-una, hindi nale-laymanize at hindi nare-release (but they don’t laymanize and they don’t release it),” Garin said.
“Kapag hindi mo kasi ni-release, nagkakaroon ng duda (If you don’t release information, it causes doubt),” she added.
During the hearing, Garin, who was formerly head of the health department, chided the DOH for its “very safe” answers, which he said only cause more panic among the public.
“Kapag there’s a directive that nobody (from the department) can speak (about), everybody wouldn’t speak, they’ll have to seek clearance but sometimes, the problem with this, when nobody speaks up, people tend to decide on their own. At the end of the day, it’s because the conveyance of info is not that clear,” she said.
She added that refusal to speak is often “misconstrued as hiding something” and it creates a “momentum of panic.”
She cited how several schools decided to cancel classes and that face masks are once again on high demand due to misinformation being spread.
While the WHO has not yet declared a public health emergency of international concern amid the spread of the virus, Garin said that this does not mean that the disease is not of serious concern.
“It simply means governments will now be mandated to easily shell out money and contribute to the situation even if you are not affected, it does not mean that they don’t declare, hindi ibig sabihin hindi siya seryoso (it is not serious),” she said.
The hearing came amid the spread of a deadly respiratory new virus that has killed more than 100 and infected thousands since emerging in China last month.
DOH Secretary Francisco Duque is set to face lawmakers during Wednesday’s plenary session for the question hour regarding the nCov.