Two House leaders on Sunday have urged the government to prepare for the possible entry of a new coronavirus (COVID-19) variant in the country.

House Deputy Speakers Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy and Rep. Eric Martinez said the government should tighten its guard against Omicron, the new COVID-19 variant detected in South Africa and countries in Africa, Asia and Europe.

“This new coronavirus variant is a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is far from over, and we hope the authorities will double their efforts to prevent its entry into the Philippines,” Herrera said.

The Omicron variant is said to be more infectious than the earlier variants although scientists are still unsure of its full impact. It was first discovered in South Africa and cases have been found in Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Israel, and Belgium.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called Omicron or B.1.1.529 a “variant of international concern” for having a high number of mutations that may make it more transmissible and allow it to evade some of the immune responses triggered by a past infection or vaccination.

Although the country has already imposed travel restrictions on travelers from South Africa and nearby countries, the lady solon said the government must be ready to take extra measures to prevent the variant's entry.

“Authorities must put additional control measures in place, including enhanced contact tracing, rapid testing and isolation, in all ports of entry nationwide,” Herrera said.

The partylist representative said a faster system should be set to respond to the new variant and possible rise in COVID-19 cases while the government’s vaccination program is still being rolled out.

“Hindi dapat tayo malusutan ng Omicron dahil maaaring mawalan ng saysay ang ating mga paghihirap at pagtitiis lalo na sa paulit-ulit na lockdown mula noong isang taon (We should never allow Omicron to get through us because everything we have worked so hard and endured especially the repetitive lockdowns will go to waste),” Herrera stressed.

“Dapat ay bantay-sarado na tayo sa nakababahalang variant na ito (We have to closely guard this alarming variant). We cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes all over again,” the House Deputy Speaker added.

Martinez, on the other hand, urged the government to prepare for the worst case scenario as the world faces a new COVID-19 variant.

"This is yet another challenge to all of us Filipinos, more so for our government to be more vigilant than ever in any possible manner," the Valenzuela City 2nd District representative said.

"The government should force a heavy border control under all circumstances, not to be complacent even to arrivals coming from countries seemingly unaffected by the new variant."

Martinez, who is seeking his third term as congressman of Valenzuela City, hopes that the new variant will not be severely harmful to humans.

He has suggested considering an increase in alert levels for heavily affected areas if initial safety measures fail.

The House leader pointed out that the government's preparation on the new variant must be better than what the country experienced during the rise of Delta variant cases.

The Valenzuela City lawmaker has also campaigned for more vaccination rollouts in the country to boost economic activity with the impending threat of a new COVID-19 variant.

"Our only reliable protection against the virus as of the moment are vaccines, in order for us to be mobile and secure," the solon added.

"During these times of yet another uncertainty, with the painful lessons of the past in regards to handling this virus, we are now expected to carry out with all our might the best decisions for our country and the Filipino people."