Filipino health professionals are in favor of the proposed establishment of Philippine Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, said Dr. Benito Atienza, Vice President 3 of Philippine Federation of Professionals Association.
“Noong ako ay Presidente ng Philippine Medical Association (PMA), ito isinusulong sa Kongreso at Senado. Ang medical community ay pabor d’yan sa CDC (When I was the President of PMA, this was already being discussed in Congress and Senate. The medical community is in favor of the establishment of CDC),” said Atienza in a Laging Handa public briefing on Wednesday, Nov. 30.
“Napakahalaga n’yan dahil tayo ay isang tropical country, kaya’t marami tayong tropical diseases na wala sa ibang bansa. Kailangan natin 'yan tulad ng Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), napakahalaga nito sa ating mga Pilipino (This is very important because we are a tropical country, which means that we have many tropical diseases that are not found in other countries. Like RITM, we need it. It is very important to us Filipinos),” he furthered.
According to Atienza, if this will be established in the Philippines, the country will be able to develop vaccines, adding that if an epidemic threatens the country, it will be resolved and treated immediately.
“Sumasangayon ang medical community at health professionals d’yan (The medical community and health professionals agree with that),” he reiterated.
Earlier, Department of Health Officer-in-Charge Maria Rosario Vergeire assured the public that the creation of CDC does not entail the dismantling of RITM.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. initially introduced the administration's interest in the creation of CDC and vaccine institute in the Philippines during his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) held in July.