Bong Go renews push for CDC and Medical Reserve Corps establishment

Senator Bong Go

Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has renewed his call for the government to stay a step ahead of health threats by creating the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a Medical Reserve Corps.

He believes these priority measures will ensure that Filipinos are well-protected.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. mentioned in his first State of the Nation Address two initiatives that are part of his priority legislative agenda: creating the CDC and establishing the Medical Reserve Corps.

READ: Go pushes bill seeking creation of Center for Disease Control and Prevention

On Thursday, November 24, Go spoke in a Senate hearing and explained his proposal for a CDC. He clarified that the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine won’t be replaced and would still offer tertiary care to in-patients and out-patients, along with regular training courses for medical and paramedical personnel to control common tropical diseases.

“Mahalaga po na hindi po mapabayaan ang RITM at mapag-aralan natin mabuti kung paano ang harmonization at delineation ng functions ng agencies,” said Go.

Highlighting the RITM’s important role during the pandemic, Go proposed to give it more functions and transfer some of its current functions to the proposed CDC. Go mentioned that, before the pandemic, he had fought for more budget for the RITM. This turned out to be a crucial decision for when the pandemic struck several months later.

“Noong una po, noong umpisa ng pandemya, nakaasa tayo sa RITM para sa COVID-19 testing dahil sila lang ang may kakayahan noon. In fact, muntik pa ngang mabawasan ang budget ng RITM noong 2020 during the budget deliberations noong 2019, hindi ako pumayag at sa tulong po ng aking mga kasamahan sa Senado, naitaas natin ang budget ng RITM,” said Go.

“Sa lahat ba naman ng babawasan ng budget, ‘yung RITM pa na importante pong opisina, pero hindi pa natin alam noon dahil hindi pa natin alam na dadating yung COVID-19. Kutob ko lang noon, ‘di po ako pumayag na mabawasan, at pinadagdagan po natin. Kung nagkataon, ‘yun pang isa sa pinaka-importanteng opisina noong pagdiskubre natin sa COVID-19,” he added.

Go voiced his desire to protect healthcare workers from being overwhelmed by the number of patients during public health crises. By doing so, the country can respond quickly and effectively to diseases.

For these reasons, he proposed Senate bills establishing the Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a Medical Reserve Corps.

Under Senate Bill No. 195, some of the proposed major functions of the CDC will include investigating potential cases of public health emergency; enforcing regulations to prevent the spread of communicable diseases; procuring and distributing vaccines, antibiotics, and other medical supplies; and working with other countries and international organizations to improve disease prevention and control systems and practices.

Meanwhile, SBN 1180, or the proposed “Medical Reserve Corps Act of 2022”, seeks to establish a Medical Reserve Corps composed of licensed physicians, nurses, medical technologists, persons who have degrees in the field of medicine, nursing, medical technology and other health-related fields, members of the Reserve Force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Medical Service, and administrative and technical personnel.

“In other countries, Centers for Disease Control have been instrumental in this pandemic. As experts in the field of infectious diseases, they are at the forefront of the health battle against COVID-19. It is high time for us to have our own CDC,” noted Go.

“We must also have a Medical Reserve Corps, which may be called upon and mobilized to assist the national government and the local government units in their functions related to addressing the medical needs of the public in times of national emergencies. Those who are deployed should be properly compensated,” he added.

Ending his speech, Go said that he is confident that his initiatives will make the government better prepared to deal with any public health emergency in the future.

“Mas mabuti na pong nakahanda tayo at hindi tayo mabibigla,” he concluded.

Go, who serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, commended fellow senator Pia Cayetano for leading the Sub-committee tackling these measures aimed to help prevent, contain and respond to other public health emergencies in the future. He cited that the one spearheading this should also be the Chair of the Committee on Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation, and Futures Thinking.

/abc