A ranking member of the House of Representatives believes that the proposed Act creating the Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines (VVIP or VIP) will get enacted sooner than later.

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte (Facebook)

In a statement, Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte, majority leader of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA), recalled that the House had unanimously passed the measure as contained in House Bill (HB) No.6452 on third and final reading last month.

The result of the nominal voting for the bill was 216-0-0 (yes-no-abstain).

Villafuerte said the speedy approval of this consolidated measure was assured because, on top of the VVIP Bill’s inclusion in the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA) of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), the executive had already set aside an initial P669.3 million for the facility.

This was on top of the five-hectare lot for its research and development (R&D) projects and facilities at the New Clark City (NCC) in Tarlac.

“The VIP is expected to be up sooner than later following its inclusion among the 30 priority bills in the CLA that was drawn up by President Marcos with Senate President Migz (Juan Miguel Zubiri) and Speaker Martin (Romualdez) during the first LEDAC (Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council) meeting convened last Oct. 10,” Villafuerte said.

Following the House’s approval of the VVIP bill, Villafuerte expressed optimism that the Senate would pass its version of this measure once Congress (House and Senate) reopens on Jan. 23.

Having the facility up and running will better prepare the country for future outbreaks or other public health emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which triggered what is considered the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression during the 1929-1939 period.

Villafuerte described the VVIP bill as “a low-hanging fruit for the Congress to pick, considering that the government has already set aside a starting outlay of almost P670 million for construction works and its initial R&D undertakings along with a five-hectare lot for its facilities at the NCC in Tarlac".

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Virology institute to materialize sooner than later--House leader