Senator Imelda “Imee” Marcos has urged the national government to fix the membership comprising the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and create a real “task force” that would streamline the functions of the state’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
Marcos suggested this on Sunday, August 15 as she pointed out that one of the reasons why the state’s COVID-19 response is in awry is due to the fact the members of the task force is not complete and at the same time confusing.
“Ganito na lang, gumawa na lang ng totoong task force. Yung IATF kasi para siyang mini-Cabinet, pagkaisahin na lang natin (My suggestion is, let’s create a real task force. The IATF is functioning like a mini-Cabinet. Let’s centralize them),” Marcos said in an interview over Radio DZBB.
“Medyo watak- watak kasi yung COVID response natin...kasi may kanya-kanyang czar eh... si Secretary (Vince) Dizon, czar ng testing, Secretary (Carlito) Galvez, czar ng vaccination, tapos may DOH, may PhilHealth (Our COVID response is in disarray because there are designated czars—Secretary Dizon, testing czar, Sec. Galvez, vaccination czar, then we have the Department of Health, then we have the PhilHealth),” she further explained.
“May OCTA, kung anik-anik. Bakit kaya di ipagkaisa yang task force nay an? Tapos tulungan na lang natin (Then we have the OCTA Research, and other groups. Why don’t we consolidate them in this task force, then let’s help them out),” she added.
Marcos said it is imperative to ensure that the government’s response against the COVID-19 , especially with the emergence of the Delta variant, is coordinated even in the provinces.
“Ang akin lang pag isahin na yung effort. Yung DOH iba lakad, tapos yung vaccine czar, eh naghahagilap ng vaccine, iba naman utos ng DOH (I think we should unify all efforts. It seems DOH has its own agenda, the vaccine czar is looking hard for vaccines, yet the DOH is issuing a different order),” she noted.
“Nagmamadali si Sec. Galvez, ang bagal naman ng DOH mag react sa probinsya, ganun din si Sec. Dizon. Talagang naghahanap ng test kits, genome centers, eh yung DOH di naman alam yung ginagawa niya (Sec. Galvez is in a hurry, yet the DOH is not acting immediately especially on the needs of those in provinces. The same with Sec. Dizon. He is really on the lookout for test kits, genome centers, yet the DOH does not know what it is supposed to do),” she lamented.
In revamping the IATF, Marcos said it is important to include heads of local government units (LGUs) as members of the task force since they are the ones hardest hit by the pandemic.
“Nagtataka ako bakit di member ang mga LGUs? Sa bawat utos ni President, ang nag iimplement naman LGUs eh, sa mga mayor, sa mga barangay. Sa awa ng Diyos, di na alam kung anong nangyayari, biglang nearesto pa, bgilang nasususpindi pa. eh kawawa naman ito di namn klaro kung anong gagawin. Iba-iba utos ng IATF (I’m asking why are LGUs not included? They are the ones who implement any directive coming from the President on the ground, our mayors, barangay leaders. But unfortunately they either face arrest or suspension, when in fact they are just following policies. Yet the IATF imposes different policies),” she pointed out.
“Isaayaos lang ang membership...di ko naman sinabi na buwagin. Kelangan lang ng command center ika nga, na makatotohanan. Di y ung kung sino-sino lang ang member (They should fix the membership...I’m not saying it should be dismantled. We just need a commander center for real. And not one that would just take in anybody to be a member),” she stressed.
Those in the small and micro industries should also be part of the equation, Marcos said, noting that the IATF still has not included them in the crafting of policies.
“Pinaka hardest hit yung micro and small industries, pero hanggang ngayon di kino-konsulta ng IATF. Mag ee-extend na naman daw sila hanggang katapusan. Eh kaya pa ba ng SMEs (the micro and small industries are hardest hit, yet they are not consulted by the IATF. They are planning to extend the lockdowns until the end of the month. But can the SMEs still cope)?” she asked.