Sen. Christopher Go (Photo from his office)
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go repeated his call on Saturday for the passage of a bill that he filed last week seeking the creation of a Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Philippine CDC) and other measures aimed at boosting the preparedness of the country for any health emergency, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The government would have to take a more proactive approach in dealing with public health issues, Go, who is chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demographics, said in a statement issued on Saturday.
He said the country was taken by surprise by the COVID-19 pandemic, which he said last May 11 at the opening of the 109th Malasakit Center at the Cotabato Sanitarium in Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao.
“This time we should be prepared,” he said in Filipino in his address at that event. “We should have a system to follow because this is surely not the last pandemic that will hit us. We should be prepared, more proactive. Better be prepared always. It will be difficult if we are again taken by surprise.”
Go also took the opportunity to talk about the Philippine CDC, the creation of which is proposed in Senate Bill No. 2158.
The Philippine CDC, he said, would monitor and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases and other health emergencies.
Go also filed Senate Bill No. 2155, which proposes to create a Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines.
“This will also hopefully make the country more self-reliant when it comes to developing, producing, or manufacturing its own vaccines and other needed drugs in the future,” Go said.
More vaccinations
Meanwhile, Go asked the public to trust the government and its vaccination program as this would be a crucial step towards economic recovery.
“Let’s follow the priority list for vaccination,” he said. “The priority should be health workers, senior citizens, and persons with comorbidities and then the essential sectors. No VIPs. Nobody should overtake anyone. We should fall in line.”
He then made an appeal to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease to include athletes in the priority list, particularly those who would participate in the coming Tokyo Olympics and the Southeast Asia Games.
Shifting the subject to medical frontliners, he said he would continue to push for measures that would promote and protect their welfare.