Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, head of the Senate Committee on Health, continues to push for proposed health measures that seek to establish the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Virology Science and Technology Institute.

“Recently, nakita natin ang pagtaas sa bilang ng mga kaso ng ilang communicable diseases, such as pertussis and measles. Bagama’t wala namang surge sa mga hospital admissions on a national level, we have seen some uptick in the number of cases prompting some LGUs to declare pertussis outbreak,” Go said.

As of last week, Quezon City, Iloilo City, and Cavite province have declared localized outbreak of pertussis or whooping cough. Some areas also reported significant increases in the number of cases, including Rizal, Taguig City, Pasig City, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon province, and Lucena City.

Last 30 March, the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines reported only a slight increase in hospital admissions due to pertussis. The Department of Health also said that the country registered a total of 568 cases since January until 16 March. Only 26 such cases were reported during the same period last year. Forty died from the disease so far this year.

In addition to pertussis, DOH also revealed more than 2,600 cases of measles since September last year, with half of this number being from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Go has previously filed Senate Bill No. (SBN) 195, seeking to establish the CDC, and SBN 196 creating the virology institute. Both are designed to strengthen further the public healthcare sector of the country after the lessons learned from the challenges brought about by the COVID-19.

“We must ensure that the country is not caught unprepared, underequipped or understaffed in the fight against future challenges to the health of our people,” explained Go.

Also known as the National Disease Prevention Management Authority, the CDC, as experts in the field of infectious diseases, will be at the forefront of the health battle against any future health crisis.

“Bilang mga experts sa infectious diseases, ang CDC ang mangunguna sa pagsugpo ng lahat ng banta sa kalusugan ng ating mga mamamayan. It is high time that we have our own CDC,” Go added.

The proposed Center will be primarily responsible for protecting Filipinos from health threats, both foreign and domestic. To accomplish this, the CDC will detect and respond to new and emerging health threats, conduct scientific research, and communicate critical health information to the public.

The bill also establishes four sub centers that will carry out the functions of the CDC, namely, (1) Center for Health Statistics, (2) Center for Surveillance and Epidemiology, (3) Center for Health Evidence, and (4) Center for Reference Laboratories.

“Ang virology institute naman, kung maisabatas, ay magbibigay sa atin ng kakayahan na mag-produce ng ating sariling bakuna. One-step ahead dapat tayo para hindi tayo mabigla kung merong darating na mga future public health emergencies. The two years spent battling the COVID-19 pandemic have exposed one of the biggest weaknesses in our healthcare system -- our inability to produce vaccines of our own,” he further said.

SBN 196, if enacted, will establish the national virology laboratory that will study and investigate viral diseases in the country. The overall goal of the VIP is to help develop vaccines against highly pathogenic emerging viruses.

The bill, most notably, provides guidelines for the establishment and operation of testing, reference and biosafety levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 research laboratories. It likewise grants the VIP the authority to regulate the operation of the existing virology laboratory network in the country.

On Tuesday, 2 April, Go is set to preside over a Senate health committee hearing to look into the state of health priorities of the government; status of health facilities, such as public hospitals and Super Health Centers; and continuing and emerging health threats.