Amid criticisms, a health expert, on Friday, April 1, reiterated that the national government has implemented and followed a “very intricate plan” against the Covid-19 pandemic.

National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 special adviser Dr. Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa, in a virtual discussion held by the Alliance of People’s Organization, disproved the claims that the Philippine government does not have concrete plans to ensure the public’s safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Sabi nila walang plano ang pamahalaan, actually mali . Very intricate ang plano at sinunod ang plano. Lahat ng nagsasabi na wala raw plano ang gobyerno ay tahimik na ngayon kasi low risk na tayo at 74 percent ng populasyon ay may bakuna na (They say the government has no plan, but it is actually wrong. The plan is very intricate and we carefully followed the plan. Everyone who says that the government has no plan is quiet now because we are at the low risk classification and 74 percent of the population has already been vaccinated),” said Herbosa.

During the implementation of the Phase 1 of the National Action Plan (NAP), Herbosa said that the government focused on ramping up the Covid-19 testing capacity in the country, establishment of more infrastructure, financing, and additional human resources.

“Nagkaroon ng NAP in March 2020. That was two years ago, at ang problema natin doon ay testing. Naalala niyo pinapadala pa natin ang samples sa Australia? Doon tayo nagbuhos ng pera – sa mga swabber at mga laboratories. Ngayon ay meron na tayong 250 laboratories kaya nating i-detect ang kalaban (We established NAP in March 2020. That was two years ago, and our problem during that time was testing. Do you remember that we still needed to send samples to Australia back then? That is where we poured money – into swabbers and laboratories. Currently, we have 250 laboratories and we can now detect the enemy),” he added.

Among other strategies and accomplishments include the implementation of the Prevent, Detect, Isolate, Treat, and Reintegrate (PDITR) strategy of the government to help the public understand the importance of prevention and containment of the virus, as well as the establishment of One Hospital Command Center and modular hospitals including the provision of hospital supplies through the Department of Health’s (DOH) Health Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) to Centers for Health Development (CHDs) local government units (LGUs), and isolation facilities.

Meanwhile, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, on Wednesday, March 30, said that the Philippines remained at “minimal risk” with low health care capacity utilization rate.

However, despite the decrease in Covid-19 infections, Herbosa urged the public to remain vigilant and continue adhering to the public health standards to prevent the occurrence of another Covid-19 surge.