MANILA, Philippines— Several senators are seeking to reconvene the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) to look into COVID-19 situation in the country and the status of the government’s vaccination rollout.
Senator Imee Marcos agreed that a “one-year review” of the government’s response to the pandemic is “necessary” as Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan revived their request for the reconvening of the COW.
“Yes, we assure the good senator that we’re in full agreement that a one-year review and the exercise of oversight is necessary at this point for this very urgent and important matter,” Marcos said during the hearing of the Senate committee on economic affairs on Wednesday.
She said this when Pangilinan sought her support for their “bipartisan request” to reconvene the COW being headed by Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
“We wrote the Senate President requesting for a reconvening of the committee of the whole in terms of the COVID response. This was triggered precisely by the sudden surge and the hospital healthcare system being in near collapse,” Pangilinan explained.
Pangilinan was joined by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senators Nancy Binay, Risa Hontiveros, and Leila de Lima when they made the request in their April 6 letter to Sotto.
“Since the start of the pandemic, the Senate has not only supported the executive with the needed appropriation and legislation, it has also proposed immediate and valuable solutions that guided government,” they said in the letter.
“We believe that through the Committee of the Whole hearing, the Senate and the Executive can come together once again and discuss solutions and, at the same time, allay the fears of our people,” they added.
The request was made when the country was experiencing a COVID surge with highest single-day tally of more than 15,000 cases last April 2.
No decision, however, has been made yet by the COW.
“Not yet. We’ll see,” Sotto said in a text message when asked if the COW would reconvene.