ONCE the Philippines gets its own Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the health authorities can improve their capacity to “prepare for and respond” to public emergencies to protect lives and allow development to proceed even in the “worst” of times, according to Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire.
“Establishing the Philippine CDC will ensure that the Philippine’s health-care system is well-prepared to forecast, to prevent, to monitor emerging and re-emerging diseases and threats both to the national and international concerns,” Vergeire said during the Senate Health committee hearing on Thursday.
There are two bills supporting this, she noted: An Act Creating the Philippine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Defining Its Powers and Functions, and for Other Purpose; and An Act Strengthening National Preparedness and Response to Public Health Emergencies by Creating a Center for Disease Control from the national down to the local levels.
Vergeire said the creation of PH -CDC will ensure operational readiness for Disease Surveillance, strengthening Epidemiologic Reporting System Manpower, and Technical Capacity Laboratory Capacity.
Senator Richard Gordon, however, is opposing the proposed organizational structure of the PH-CDC, because it will be lodged under the office of the Secretary of Health. Beneath the DOH chief is the PH CDC Director General who will be in charge of the Communication Office and Administrative and Finance Office. There will be two Deputy Directors General, one to supervise the Center for Epidemiology and Public Health Surveillance and the Center for Reference Laboratories. The other DDG will be in charge of the Center for Preparedness and Response Planning and the Center for Health Evidence.
“I most vigorously oppose that [putting CDC under DOH]. I think that the why reason you have a center for disease control is that you would want to be able to get doctors who are independent-minded not to tiptoe their way into a political minefield. I hope you’re understanding me,” Gordon told DOH officials at the hearing.
He noted the DOH itself has a lot of political minefields that they have to go through.
“Even for most of the politicians, I hope not including us, there are certain demands that are made upon them (DOH) and sometimes [these demands] may not be in the best interest of our country. So, my position is, I think the CDC should be independent subject to certain controls by the president or by an advisory board,” Gordon said.
Vergeire said that the PH CDC was also conceptualized to “improve local engagements in preparedness and response to public health emergency so, specifically, the PH CDC is meant to exercise automatic command to control over local government units (LGUs) during national and local public health emergencies develop.”
The key features of the PH CDC include those on the level of national response:
· Covers prevention and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) control of infectious and non-communicable diseases
· Conversion of the RITM into a premier facility for clinical laboratory, epidemiologic and implementation research
· Investments for ICT to ensure up-to-date field data for responsive decision making
· Adoption of the Scientific Career System for Qualified Employees of CDC
As for the local response:
· Obligation of LGUs to abide by national policies during Public Health Emergencies for unified response
· Performance-based incentives to private facilities with internal epidemiology and surveillance units (ESUs)
· Performance-based incentives to private facilities with internal epidemiology and surveillance units
· ESUs in every province/ city-wide health system in line with the UHC Act and Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases
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