Solons file bills seeking supplemental funds for nCoV response

A laboratory at the Philippine Genome Center. (Photo from the PGC website)

MANILA, Philippines — Two House lawmakers have filed bills seeking supplemental budget of over P2 billion to aid in the government’s disease control and prevention measures in view of the threat of novel coronavirus.

House committee on health chair Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan filed House Bill No. 6166, which seeks to augment the budget requirements of the Department of Health (DOH) to procure surgical masks for patients under investigation and personal protective equipment for health workers.

The funds will also be used to repatriate Filipinos overseas, particularly those in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

“To safeguard the use of the P2.40B supplemental fund that is being proposed, I have included a reporting mechanism to mandate the DOH to give a detailed account of the budget’s utilization,” Tan said Wednesday in a press briefing in Quezon City.

Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda filed a similar bill seeking P2.1 billion supplementary budget also for the procurement of surgical masks and protective personal equipment.

In his bill, Salceda included a P20 million incentive for epidemiologists working on containing the disease.

“Dinadagdagan ko siya para sa mga epidemiologists kasi nga may mga kulang talaga na mga epidemiologist, kapag nagkasakit sila, charged sa sick leave nila. So we need to provide incentive for epidemiologists,” Salceda said in a separate press briefing.

(We added funds for epidemiologists because we are short of them. When they get sick, it is charged to their sick leave. So we need to provide incentive for epidemiologist.)

“We need to motivate them in this period na kailangang-kailangan natin ang serbisyo nila,” the lawmaker added.

(We need to motivate them in this period when we really need their service.)

There are currently two confirmed cases of nCoV in the country—the second case involved a 44-year old Chinese man who was admitted to San Lazaro Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila for pneumonia after experiencing fever, cough, and sore throat.

The Chinese man passed away on Saturday, February 1, making him the first case of nCoV death outside China.

Edited by JPV