La Union 2nd district Rep. Sandra Eriguel asked her colleagues on Wednesday, July 1, to ensure that the proposed creation of regional quarantine facilities will be fully funded so as not to financially burden the local government units (LGUs).
The chairperson of the House Committee on Social Services added to the list of leaders of the House of Representatives who rallied behind House Bill No. 7005 or the proposed "Mandatory Quarantine Facilities Act of 2020, principally authored by Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr.
(ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
"I hope that there will be sufficient funding support from the National Government when this bill will be passed into law and that the LGUs will not be burdened by financially supporting the existence of the facilities," Eriguel, a medical doctor by profession, said in a Viber message.
She noted that under Villafuerte's HB 7005, the appropriations will be sourced from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) and that the Department of Health (DOH) shall operate and manage such quarantine facilities.
She lauded Villafuerte for filing HB 7005, which seeks to establish quarantine facilities in every region and to fully equip such facilities to include the needs of individuals who are quarantined--adequate food, clothing, means of communication, and competent medical care.
"With this measure, there will be permanent quarantine facilities established in every region which will ensure every Filipino an immediate access to such facilities. This would also enable our LGUs to be better prepared in dealing with any health crisis," Eriguel said.
"The facilities will also greatly assist our healthcare frontliners in dealing with any epidemic, pandemic or other outbreaks in slowing down, if not, curtailing the spread as patients who are or maybe afflicted will be isolated from other patients," she added.
The measure mandates the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), in coordination with the LGUs, to be in charge of the construction of quarantine facilities. The DOH shall be in charge of operation, supervision, and management of the quarantine facilities.