Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri, at the resumption of the plenary session in this file photo taken on November 7, 2022. Senate PRIB file photo / Joseph Vidal
MANILA, Philippines — Tourists might think the Philippines has as many COVID cases as China if the state of emergency is prolonged. This isn’t true, though.
That’s what Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri argued on Wednesday about why he wasn’t interested in continuing the emergency declaration.
His view seemed to back the stand of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on the matter, as the head of state had previously indicated he was reluctant to extend the state of calamity declaration caused by the pandemic.
The official proclamation for the state of calamity due to COVID-19 lapsed on December 31, 2022.
“May rason po ang ating Pangulo na hindi niya po hiningi sa amin ang extension ng state of calamity,” Zubiri said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum.
(Our President has a reason for not asking us for an extension of the state of calamity.)
READ: Marcos Jr. very hesitant to extend pandemic-induced state of calamity in PH
“Unang-una, hindi maganda sa imahe ng Pilipinas na ‘pag tinignan po ng mga turista, ‘pag pumunta sila online, meron pa ring state of calamity for COVID-19. Parang ang dating nu’n, parang China na ‘yun na sobrang dami nating COVID-19, hindi natin nako-kontrol, runaway ‘yung COVID sa ating bansa. Wala naman,” he added.
(First, it will not be good for the Philippines’ image, especially when tourists go online and find out that there is still a state of calamity for COVID-19. It will look like we have many cases like China in which we cannot control COVID-19 or COVID-19 is runaway in our country. It is not.)
READ: Global alarm grows over China’s COVID-19 surge
According to Zubiri, Marcos wants “it rectified by legislation.”
“Ang punto ko lang is, of course, ayaw po sirain ang imahe [ng Pilipinas] ng Presidente by extending the state of calamity. He wants it rectified by legislation. So, we are going to step up to that request of the President,” The senator said.
(My point is, of course, our President does not want to destroy the country’s image by extending the state of calamity.)
Instead, Zubiri noted, the President wants continuous COVID-19 vaccination and special powers for the Department of Health (DOH) when it comes to immunization, among others.
Earlier, the DOH sought for the extension of the COVID-19 state of calamity until the end of 2023.
READ: DOH seeks 4th state of calamity extension
DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire pointed out that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bill, which states the conditions needed for COVID-19 response to continue, has not yet been passed.
Zubiri said the Senate is focusing on the passage of bills establishing the CDC and the Virology Institute.
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