"Make pandemic preparedness a lifestyle."
 
This was stressed by House Deputy Majority Leader and Bagong Henerasyon partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera even as she urged the inclusion of pandemic preparedness in the K-12 basic education curriculum.

“Pandemic preparedness must be taught as early as Kindergarten and up to Grade 12 if we want to create a culture of preparedness and infection control in homes and schools,” Herrera said in a statement. 
 
She said the ongoing pandemic crisis should prod the Department of Education (DedEd) to implement an educational program or develop a "skills-based" pandemic preparedness subject that would help the children and their families prepare for any future national health emergencies.
 
“We need to make pandemic preparedness a lifestyle by introducing it to children at an early age. I’m sure children will relay whatever they have learned to their parents and everyone at home," Herrera said. 
 
“Preparing children for pandemics has to be incorporated in our system, so that any future crisis can be dealt in an easier way,” she added.
 
The House leader said even the World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) cited as crucial the involvement of children in some activities that would raise their awareness on health safety protocols during any pandemic. 
 
“It’s very important that children are taught ways they can avoid getting and spreading COVID-19 and other diseases,” Herrera said.
 
She expressed hope that the DepEd would give in to her proposal, citing that schools will be instrumental in helping the children and their families understand and follow the protocols and norms laid down by the government during heath crisis.