Rep. Carlos Zarate. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—A lawmaker lashed out at the Department of Health Wednesday for its alleged “very disappointing response” to the measles cases in Metro Manila.
In a statement, Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate said the DOH has performed below par in battling the disease despite the added budget of the agency.
“It is even doubly disappointing considering that it is the children who are primarily suffering and being affected by the disease,” Zarate said in the statement.
Zarate said that the DOH has an P80.8-billion budget for 2014, which was almost P30 billion more from 2013 and a quick reaction fund of P304 million.
As of January 4, the DOH recorded 744 cases of measles in Metro Manila between January 1 and December 14 of 2013 with outbreaks in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Manila, Muntinlupa and Parañaque.
A total of 1,724 measles cases have been recorded nationwide with 21 cases being fatal.
“The DOH should also not blame the parents for this outbreak because it is their job to prevent such an event and should have gone an early house-to-house immunization drive when they monitored that the measles cases begin to spike.”
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