SENATOR and Chair of the Senate Committee on Health Christopher “Bong” Go has co-sponsored a measure establishing the Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in an effort to ensure that the healthcare system is better prepared to respond to possible future public health crises.

In his co-sponsorship speech on Senate Bill No. 1869 under Committee Report No. 28, Go, who also co-authored the proposed measure, noted that aside from capacitating health facilities, the country needs a sole agency “focused on the prevention and containment of infectious diseases in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“[T]he global outbreak of the coronavirus disease sparked the need to have a more comprehensive, proactive approach and multi-disciplinary preparedness for the emergence and re-emergence of epidemics and pandemics,” explained Go.

Go said it is past due for the country to build its very own CDC, noting that they played a significant role in how other nations responded to COVID-19.

He pointed out that even former president Rodrigo Duterte acknowledged this and has previously asked Congress to pass the measure.

“I am glad that the administration of President Bongbong Marcos Jr. also acknowledges the importance of this measure,” he said.

Under the proposed law, the CDC shall be directly under the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Health. It will be a science-based organization that will be the technical authority on forecasting, analysis, strategy, and standards development for the prevention and control of all diseases of public health importance and health security events, whether domestic or international in origin.

The CDC is tasked to coordinate with CDCs of other countries and act as the national focal point of the country for international health regulations concerns.

The functions of the CDC include developing strategies, standards, and policies for disease prevention and control; implementing disease surveillance and field epidemiology activities; performing data collection and analytics; establishing and strengthening public health laboratories; recommending actions for public health threats to appropriate national government bodies; and leading public health and risk communications.

It is also tasked to conduct and manage health research and evidence synthesis; build local capacity for surveillance and health research; and promote scientific integrity by ensuring that all its products are technically accurate, scientifically and ethically sound, and useful to the government and the intended population through the institutionalization of appropriate mechanisms and bodies.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine will become part of the CDC if the proposed measure is passed into law.

Stressing its important role during the pandemic, Go remarked that he had fought for the budget of the RITM which proved to be a crucial decision when the pandemic hit the country months after.

“Sa preparasyon po ng budget ng RITM noong 2020, during the budget deliberations in December of 2019, nakita ko doon sa NEP (National Expenditure Program), PhP118 million lang ang nilagay na budget sa RITM. Sa GAA (General Appropriations Act) naman po ng 2019, PhP198 (million). So, ibig sabihin, binawasan ‘yung proposed budget, binawasan ng PhP80 million (para sa 2020),” he recounted.

Go continued, “Sino ba naman ang mag-aakala na yung RITM na opisina na binawasan po nila sa proposed budget, ang ahensyang mangunguna po sa testing? Noong January, dumating yung COVID-19, nalaman natin noong Marso, nandirito na sa Pilipinas. Hirap na hirap nga tayo sa testing noon, pinapadala pa sa Australia yung mga specimen, at one week pa makukuha ‘yung resulta through RITM. Sila po ‘yung pinaka-importanteng opisina noong panahong iyon.”

The senator successfully pushed for an additional PhP105 million in the RITM’s 2020 budget, increasing its total budget to PhP223.8 million that year. He again pushed to further increase its budget to PhP393.8 million in 2021, and then again in 2022 to PhP730 million.

“Hindi natin akalain na ‘yung panahong ‘yun ay darating ‘yung COVID-19 sa buhay natin. So the more na dapat natin silang bigyan ng pondo. Now, with CDC, mas pinapalawig pa natin sila dahil magiging parte po ng CDC ang RITM,” he added.

Go then emphasized that dealing with diseases promptly and appropriately requires such reorganization and restrengthening of the country’s health units committed to preventing and controlling such diseases.

“Dapat one-step ahead tayo. Hindi po pwede na hindi tayo handa kung mayroong paparating na mga kalamidad, sakuna, o emergency. Sa bawat oras na nagkulang po tayo sa paghahanda, maaaring buhay po ang maging kapalit,” said Go.

“Alam naman po natin na hindi natin masasabi kung mayroon pang pandemyang darating sa ating buhay. Sa kadahilanang ito kaya kailangan nating maging proactive,” he added.

With the establishment of our CDC, Go said he is confident that the government will be better prepared to deal with any public health emergency in the future.

“It is for these reasons that I ask for this chamber’s support for the approval of this measure,” he said.

Aside from the Philippine CDC, Go also filed SBN 196 which seeks to establish the Virology Science and the Technology Institute of the Philippines.

The VIP will serve as the principal laboratory of the country in providing virology laboratory investigations, research, and technical coordination of the entire network of virology laboratories nationwide. SBN 196 shall provide guidelines for the establishment and operation of testing, reference and biosafety Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 research laboratories throughout the country.