SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go is confident that the new quarantine measures throughout the country for the month of June will always be based on ‘good science’ as he continues to remind the public not to be complacent and to remain vigilant as the pandemic continues.

“It will be based on good science naman po parati ang pinag-aaralan ng ating gobyerno. Kaya po nakikiusap ako sa ating mga kababayan, kung ayaw n’yong mag-ECQ (enhanced community quarantine), disiplina po at kooperasyon ang kailangan,” said Go during the launches of the 115th and 116th Malasakit Center at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital and Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, both in Santa Cruz, Manila City.

“Sumunod tayo sa paalala ng gobyerno. Mask all the time, social distancing, face shield, hugas ng kamay at kung ‘di naman po kailangan, ‘wag muna umalis ng pamamahay habang nandiyan pa ang COVID-19 dahil delikado pa ang panahon,” he added.

Go assured that the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases and experts are reviewing the restrictions thoroughly to balance the health interests and livelihood of Filipinos which have been greatly affected by the measures.

“Pinag-aaralan po ‘yan ng IATF. Pinag-aaralan ng experts ‘yan. Binabalanse naman po ang lahat, so, trabaho po nila ‘yan na pag-aralan. Binabalanse po nila ang lahat, economy and health,” he said.

As chair of the Senate Committee on Health, however, Go said that he always has the health and safety of Filipinos in mind.

“Ako naman bilang committee chair ay uunahin ko s’yempre ang kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino, buhay ng bawat Pilipino. Ang buhay ay hindi maibabalik ‘yan. Itong GCQ, ECQ, MECQ, pabalik-balik na lang ‘yan,” Go said.

“Pero ‘pag merong namamatay ay hindi nababalik… Kaya unahin natin ang buhay ng bawat Pilipino,” he added.

Meanwhile, as the national vaccination program continues to accelerate and expand to a bigger part of the population, Go urges the government not to waste a single vaccine shot and ensure that all doses are utilized.

“Dapat walang masayang. Pinaghirapan po natin ang mga bakunang ito, sobrang hirap natin sa bakunang ito para mabili o mahingi sa COVAX,” said Go.

He also called for strict compliance with the priority list issued by the government for the efficient rollout of the vaccines.

“‘Yung COVAX kasi galing po ‘yun sa COVAX facility na mga vaccine. Meron pong sinusunod na priority list. Ito namang procured by the government, meron din tayong sinusunod na priority list: A1, healthcare workers; A2, senior citizens; A3, persons with comorbidities,” explained Go.

“A4, essential workers. Sila na po ang susunod, tapos A5, yung indigents… at sa mga susunod na buwan maaari na pong simulan ang mga ito para mabakunahan na ang mahihirap. Para ‘wag na mag-intayan… Deploy, turok agad… dapat walang masayang na araw para ma-achieve agad natin ang herd immunity ngayong taon na ito para sumaya ang Pasko,” he added.

As of May 20, a total of 8,279,050 vaccines have arrived in the country while the government is expecting 20,829,050 doses to be delivered in the coming months.

As the government gears up to vaccinate the A4 sector in June, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Friday disclosed the new specifications for the said priority group, which will now include all those in the private sector who are required to work outside their residences.

Meanwhile, amid reports of individuals performing self-swab tests for COVID-19, Go said that it is better to leave the conduct of tests to health experts.

“Kung ano po ang sinabi ng ating mga health experts, ‘yun po ang ating paniniwalaan at sundin dahil mahirap naman pong magself-swabbing tayo, ‘di natin alam kung ano ang magiging resulta, kung magiging accurate ba,” he explained.

“Mahabang proseso po ‘yan, lahat po ng swabber ay dumadaan sa training at hindi po basta basta ang trabaho na ‘yan,” he added.

He, then, urged all Filipino to put their faith in health authorities and experts regarding the conduct of COVID-19 tests.

“Magtiwala po tayo sa ating mga experts at sa Department of Health kung ano po ang nararapat na proseso na dapat nating sundin,” he ended.