Benguet Caretaker Congressman and Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap will donate a PCR machine and Automated Extraction Machine to Benguet General Hospital which may be the first of its kind in the northern part of the country. It is expected to arrive in Benguet anytime this week to further boost the testing capacity of their health facilities.
The lawmaker will donate the machines to Benguet General Hospital but for the meantime, in absence of an adequate facility in the hospital, it will execute a Memorandum of Agreement with Baguio General Hospital, which is the only COVID testing center in the region. Under the agreement, Baguio General Hospital will conduct testing using the machines but will allocate a certain number of tests per day for Benguet residents until such time that Benguet General Hospital is ready with their own testing site.
“This will be a big boost in addressing the backlog of PCR-based tests in Baguio dahil hindi lang Baguio City ang covered ng Baguio General Hospital, sa kanila din dinadala ang mga samples ng Benguet at iba pang probinsya sa Cordillera at maging sa ibang bahagi ng Northern Luzon. We will not flatten the curve without mass testing and I hope these machines will bring us one step closer to a COVID-free community”, the Benguet caretaker said.
“Pag walang aggressive testing, we risk spreading the virus even more. Yung mga asymptomatic, hindi natin ma-test tapos nakahalo sa community, sa mga pamilya nila kahit carriers na sila. Yung mga returning residents naman, instead na i-subject sa testing, we spend more on their quarantine without full assurance na cleared sila after 14 days. Sa hospital naman, yung mga positive patients, mas matagal naghihintay ng results kaya mas matagal ang stay sa hospital at dagdag gastos pa sa kanila. Hindi pwedeng ganun, we have to do something”, he added.
Inspired by his favorite quote, “The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing,” “For COVID to prevail, it only takes a good man to do nothing, malaking tulong man ang mga naipamahagi nating relief goods, PPEs, gamot, vitamins at iba pa, naniniwala akong hindi natin matutumbok ang problema kung kulang ang ating kakayahan pagdating sa aggressive na mass testing. Sa munti nating paraan, tayo po ay magbibigay ng PCR Machine at Automated Extraction Machine sa Benguet General Hospital upang makatulong na mas marami ang ating mai-test”, Yap said.
“Test, test, test. Yan ang sagot at hindi basta quarantine lang ng quarantine. Dagdagan natin ang kakayahan nating makapagtest at pabilisin natin ang paglabas ng resulta. Kaya nung nagtanong tayo kung may paraan para mas madami ang test na magawa, makakatulong daw ang pagkakaroon ng Automated Extractor. It’s a no brainer, alam ko sa sarili ko na kailangan bumili din tayo nito upang mas marami tayong test na magawa. From 100 tests a day dahil manual ang ginagamit, magiging 1,000 ang pwedeng i-test once na may automated machine.” Yap added.
Congressman Yap, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, vows to further help the government’s drive against COVID.
“Bukod sa mga mahalagang trabahong dapat natin gampanan sa Kongreso, hindi tayo hihinto in our own capacity na tumulong sa ating mga kababayan. Kung mayroong itinuro sa atin ang pandemic na dinaranas natin ngayon, yun ay kung paano tayo makakatulong at hindi kung paano tayo kikita”, he expressed