The Philippines should have grappled enough with the risks brought by the Covid-19 pandemic, making it eligible to push for the creation of the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Tuesday.

The lawmaker filed Senate Bill 825 also known as the Disease Prevention and Control Act, which seeks to integrate the development and application of the country's communicable disease prevention and control initiatives.

"The current Covid-19 situation emphasizes the risks and highlights the need to improve preparedness, surveillance and response at local, national and international levels against future pandemics," Gatchalian said.

He underscored the establishment of the center will relieve the country's public healthcare system should similar pandemic issues occur in the future.

"To avoid heavily burdening our public health system that may signify serious repercussions, including countless morbidities and mortalities, trade disruptions and negative effect on the economy, our proposed measure emphasizes on the importance of having a strong public health capacity in communities across the country before any public health emergency occurs," he said.

The bill mandates the center to house the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine and the Department of Health's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, Epidemiology Bureau, Health Emergency Management Bureau, Bureau of Quarantine, and Health Promotion and Communication Service.

It shall be an attached agency of the DoH.

Gatchalian said the Center's other functions will cover research, health promotion programs, and the conduct of clinical trials, among others.

It will likewise assess and support the capabilities of local government units to prevent the emergence and transmission of communicable diseases.

He is also proposing the National Health Strategy for Disease Prevention considering the emerging challenges of the country on the medical capacity and capability of hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and enhancement of information and technology in public health, among others.