One's state of health may directly and immediately affect one's earning capacity. Especially for many of our average Filipinos who could only take home a fair day's wage. For a fair day's work, getting sick has particularly dire implications.

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, I am glad that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has recently directed our Department of Health to refocus on other public health concerns alongside the campaign against Covid-19.

We must continue prioritizing general public health to promote the overall well-being of the Filipino people. Our plans should include intensifying our fight against tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus infections, among others, commonly afflicting Filipinos, which have serious consequences for the affected individuals and the population at large.

By making the campaign against HIV and TB infections a priority, for example, we can ensure that the necessary resources are allocated to prevent and treat these conditions and protect vulnerable individuals and the community from their devastating effects.

Of course, that does not give us a free pass to let up on our efforts to combat Covid-19. Indeed, we have come a long way in our fight against the pandemic. We can now afford to have less strict minimum health protocols, largely because of our solid vaccination efforts that began under the previous Duterte administration. The DoH recently announced that starting January 2023, it will already integrate Covid-19 management into our other public health programs and will no longer be a special program.

However, while many no longer view controlling the spread of the virus as the most urgent national concern compared to rising inflation, as long as Covid-19 is still around, it poses a real threat to our lives and livelihoods. Continued public vigilance is thus needed, especially this holiday season.

Getting to fully celebrate the holidays this year with our friends and loved ones is already an early gift for all of us. My only wish this year is for every Filipino to have a healthier and happier life ahead.

To help achieve this, I filed several measures to ensure our preparedness against potential health threats and protect our people from these threats.