Two senators have raised alarm over the continuous surge of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Philippines, with the number of infections now exceeding one million.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, in a statement, said the country "should not have gotten into this situation" had the government heeded calls for increased testing, tracing, isolation and treatment measures against the pandemic.
On Monday, April 26, the Department of Health lodged a total of 1,006,428 COVID-19 cases in the Philippines. Of the number, 914,952 have recovered, while 16,853 succumbed to the disease.
Hontiveros expressed fear that the Philippines would end up like India with its worsening COVID-19 situation. She recalled the World Health Organization (WHO) ringing the alarm over the coronavirus surge's effect on the country's healthcare system.
"What we are currently seeing in India is a frightening warning of what might happen to us if we reach the red line," she warned.
The opposition lawmaker also pressed for the overhaul of the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases and the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF).
"Ngayon, higit isang milyon na ang mga dahilan kung bakit kailangan nang palitan ang mga namamahala ng IATF-NTF (Now, we have over one million reasons to replace leaders of the IATF-NTF)," Hontiveros said.
"The current IATF-NTF has used more of its time repackaging data for PR purposes than hitting any of our targets. Wala man lang makabuluhang pagbabago, ulit, noong ECQ (There were no changes, again, even with the reimposition of the enhanced community quarantine)," she added.
She further said: "If we want to hold on to the hope of a new normal, we need to make drastic changes."
Senator Joel Villanueva, for his part, said there could be more to the over one million individuals confirmed to have COVID-19.
"The one million Filipinos infected by COVID-19 were only those who had been tested. The actual figure could be higher, or by one study, even five times more," Villanueva raised in a separate statement.
"What is worrying is that we have reached this number on the crest of yet another surge. The daily installment which put us over the one-million mark was again in several thousands, an alarming rate by global standards," he added.
The government, Villanueva said, should be prompted to become "more determined" in controlling the spread of the disease, particularly in implementing its vaccine program and other health interventions.