Garin raises alarm over TB cases after 1,280 logged in Tondo

MANILA, Philippines — House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin raised alarm over tuberculosis (TB) cases in the country after a report revealed that 1,280 individuals were diagnosed with the disease in Manila.

Last August, the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported that 4.3 percent of 29,291 residents in Tondo, Manila were diagnosed with tuberculosis, higher than the country’s 3 percent average of TB positivity.

“This is alarming. The government must take action against the increasing number of tuberculosis in the country,” Garin said in a statement Saturday.

Citing her experience during a medical mission to Iloilo, where she observed that TB was prevalent among Filipinos, Garin advocated for more accessible health care.

Last March, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said logistical problems were causing a shortage of anti-TB medicines.

READ: TB meds shortage in DOTS centers due to logistics woes — DOH

“Nakakabahala na kulang ang gamot para sa ganitong uri ng sakit. Tamang distribution at maaayos na sistema sa pagbibigay ng gamot ang kailangan upang matiyak na makakakuha ng sapat na gamot ang mga Pilipino,” she stressed.

(It is alarming that there is a shortage of medicine for this type of illness. Proper distribution and an organized system for providing medication are needed to ensure that Filipinos receive adequate treatment.)

Garin was health secretary under President Benigno Aquino III from February 2015 to June 2016.

The Philippines has the fourth highest number of TB cases across the globe, according to a 2024 report by the World Health Organization.

READ: PH still among Top 5 in tally of TB cases

WHO data showed 739,000 Filipinos were infected with the disease, accounting for 6.8 percent of the total cases worldwide.