Quezon City 5th District Rep. Alfred Vargas has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the second member of the House of Representatives to get infected with the dreaded disease.
On Wednesday, Deputy Speaker and Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante issued a press statement announcing the positive result of his COVID-19 test.
This is Abante's second bout with the viral disease.
The Lower House has been placed on an extended lockdown as leaders moved to prevent the further spread of infections.
“I had just tested positive for COVID-19, a difficult and worrying reality that tens of thousands of our fellow Filipinos had to face this week,” Vargas said in a statement posted on Twitter.
“While we have been working with experts and civil servants in making policy solutiosn to address this pandemic, this battle against the SARS-COV-2 virus has only come closer to home,” he stated.
The actor-turned-politician disclosed that despite the RT-PCR test result confirming his infection, he remains asymptomatic.
“We are following all prescribed safety protocols and I continue my work from my isolation station to ensure that our services to our constituents will not be disrupted. Tuloy ang serbisyo. (We continue serving),” said Vargas, chairman of the House Committee on Social Services.
Abante was the first among House members to reveal his COVID-19 condition as the pandemic continue to affect thousands of Filipinos following the celebration of the just-concluded Christmas season.
“This morning, I received the results of my test, which revealed that I am COVID-positive,” Abante, 70, told the House media on Wednesday.
On Friday, Speaker Lord Allan Velasco ordered the Batasan Pambansa complex in Quezon City closed until January 16.
We have decided to extend the lockdown by another week from January 10 to 16 as a precautionary measure to protect the health and safety of House members and employees in view of an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in NCR and adjacent provinces,” Velasco said.