
TOL hopes VIP will expedite gov’t action vs spread of animal diseases
SENATE Majority Leader Francis ‘TOL’ Tolentino hopes that the proposed Virology Institute of the Philippines (VIP) will expedite the government’s efforts to curb the spread of animal diseases.
This is to prevent a repeat of the country’s experience with the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak last year.
In his brief interjection during the plenary discussion on Senate Bill No. 2893, which will support VIP, TOL pointed out what he called the “overlapping mandates” of various agencies that responded to the ASF outbreak.
He said the process for large-scale clinical trials and deployment of appropriate vaccines to counter the spread of the deadly ASF virus has been extremely slow.
It will be recalled that Tolentino filed Senate Resolution No. 565, which led the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform to investigate the detrimental effects of ASF on the production, supply, and price of pork.
“One of the reasons why our fight against ASF lasted so long is allegedly due to a glitch on the part of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in conducting clinical trials for ASF vaccines. When they realized the urgent need for trials, they had to conduct them on a large scale,” TOL shared.
“Can confusion like this be avoided in the mandates of government agencies under the proposed virology agency?” he asked.
In response, the bill’s sponsor, Senator Pia Cayetano, announced that SB 2893 states that the VIP’s duties include ensuring “seamless collaboration” with RITM, and other government research bodies to clarify the roles and responsibilities of each.
But Cayetano added that it is inevitable that there will be “disagreements” between agencies, despite the coordination led by the VIP.
Lastly, Tolentino expressed hope that not only government agencies, but also private laboratories can also partner with VIP to quickly respond to disasters, such as the ASF outbreak.