MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday dismissed calls to abolish the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) amid the surge of COVID-19 cases in the country.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, quoting officials of the Department of Health, said the rise of COVID-19 cases can be attributed to the presence of new coronavirus variants in the country.
“Tanggapin natin o hindi, nag-mutate ang mga virus at hindi naman siguro kasalanan ng IATF na nag-mutate itong mga virus sa pamamaraan na mas nakakahawa sila,” he said in a Palce briefing.
(Whether we accept it or not, the virus has mutated and it is not the fault of IATF that it has done so.)
Roque vouched that all of the IATF’s decisions, including the additional restrictions it imposed starting Monday over Metro Manila and four nearby provinces, are based on scientific data.
The effects of such measures, he said, will be felt after two weeks.
He also noted that it is not only the Philippines that is experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases.
Senator Imee Marcos earlier called for the abolition of IATF and the appointment of public health experts to lead the country’s fight against COVID-19 through a “true science-based” approach.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III “concurred” with Marcos’ proposal, citing what he said is the “gross incompetence” of the Department of Health (DOH) in handling the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Senator Risa Hontiveros called for an overhaul of the members of IATF, saying it should be led by public health officers and not military officers.
But Roque said the IATF will not be abolished since its members are the chief of government agencies in the country.
“Walang makakapantay pagdating sa human capital ng IATF dahil buong bureaucracy ng gobyerno ay nagsama-sama po para sa ating response sa COVID-19,” he said.
(The human capital of IATF cannot be parred since the whole bureaucracy of government came together for the COVID-19 response.)