House leader asks for P1-B supplemental budget vs. nCoV
Published Feb 3, 2020 12:00 am
By Ellson Quismorio
The House Committee on Health chairman is batting for a P1-billion supplemental budget to help fight the spread of the as yet incurable 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the country.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina Tan said the Department of Health (DOH) has asked for a P900,000 additional budget, the breakdown of which was submitted to her office.
But the lady solon is pushing for P1 billion in order to give the DOH a buffer fund of P100 million.
The DOH proposal is meant to beef up budget requirements of various DOH offices such as the Disease and Prevention Control Bureau for its logistics and commodities; the Epidemiology Bureau for its surveillance; the Health Facility Development Bureau for its health facility preparedness, the Health Emergency Management Bureau for its quick response; the Bureau of Quarantine; the Health Promotion and Communications Service; and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine or RITM.
The Philippines was thrust into the spotlight recently after recording the first case of death from the 2019-nCoV outside mainland China, where the mysterious virus originated.
"I believe that it is also about time that we strengthened the RITM because currently it has only 50-beds for patients with infectious diseases requiring tertiary care, seven of which is for PUIs (patients under investigation). The fear kits or 'primers' to identify if a patient is positive for the nCoV is with the RITM," Tan said in a statement.
Tan, a doctor by profession, said she is also inclined to file a resolution to look into the country's preparedness for health emergencies in light of the report of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB). The GPMB is an independent body that assesses a country's readiness in case of a worldwide emergency.
She said the central finding of the report is that the world needs to proactively establish the systems needed to detect and control potential disease outbreaks such as adequate investment, building stronger systems, and strengthening coordination mechanisms.
"We need to be proactive. If we waited until the first case of nCoV has been confirmed before we acted, it could have been too late a hero for us," Tan said.
"The good thing is that the DOH has been proactive and I am positive that it is on top of the situation. But the House Committee on Health is closely monitoring the actions of the DOH in their response to this health emergency," she added.
"We need to get our acts together to spare the Filipinos from this virus," the panel chair further said.
There has so far been no reported local transmission of 2019-nCoV.
(MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
Quezon 4th district Rep. Angelina Tan said the Department of Health (DOH) has asked for a P900,000 additional budget, the breakdown of which was submitted to her office.
But the lady solon is pushing for P1 billion in order to give the DOH a buffer fund of P100 million.
The DOH proposal is meant to beef up budget requirements of various DOH offices such as the Disease and Prevention Control Bureau for its logistics and commodities; the Epidemiology Bureau for its surveillance; the Health Facility Development Bureau for its health facility preparedness, the Health Emergency Management Bureau for its quick response; the Bureau of Quarantine; the Health Promotion and Communications Service; and the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine or RITM.
The Philippines was thrust into the spotlight recently after recording the first case of death from the 2019-nCoV outside mainland China, where the mysterious virus originated.
"I believe that it is also about time that we strengthened the RITM because currently it has only 50-beds for patients with infectious diseases requiring tertiary care, seven of which is for PUIs (patients under investigation). The fear kits or 'primers' to identify if a patient is positive for the nCoV is with the RITM," Tan said in a statement.
Tan, a doctor by profession, said she is also inclined to file a resolution to look into the country's preparedness for health emergencies in light of the report of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB). The GPMB is an independent body that assesses a country's readiness in case of a worldwide emergency.
She said the central finding of the report is that the world needs to proactively establish the systems needed to detect and control potential disease outbreaks such as adequate investment, building stronger systems, and strengthening coordination mechanisms.
"We need to be proactive. If we waited until the first case of nCoV has been confirmed before we acted, it could have been too late a hero for us," Tan said.
"The good thing is that the DOH has been proactive and I am positive that it is on top of the situation. But the House Committee on Health is closely monitoring the actions of the DOH in their response to this health emergency," she added.
"We need to get our acts together to spare the Filipinos from this virus," the panel chair further said.
There has so far been no reported local transmission of 2019-nCoV.