With Omicron cases peaking in Metro Manila and spreading to the provinces, Sorsogon Governor Chiz Escudero urged the Department of Health (DOH) to empower local government units (LGUs) to implement a pandemic response tailored to local health realities, instead of compelling them to follow frequently changing national health guidelines.
Escudero said local chief executives have come up with their own effective approaches to managing COVID-19 over nearly two years of the pandemic, but they are derailed by ever-changing directions from the DOH-led Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
“Sa totoo lang, napakaraming best practices ang mga gobernador at mayor sa buong bansa—talo at malayo ang mga ginagawa ng DOH at IATF sa ngayon—na kung bibigyan buwelo lang sana sa mga lokal na pamalahaang ito, magiging mas maganda ang COVID-19 response ng ating bansa,” said Escudero, whose province has secured ISO certification for all its public hospitals.
Even with around 600 new COVID-19 cases in Sorsogon just this year—from zero cases last Christmas—Sorsogon’s hospital occupancy rate is at a low 43%, and isolation and quarantine facilities are only 12% occupied.
This is because the provincial government has secured home care kits as early as 2020 for distribution to asymptomatic COVID-19 patients or those with mild symptoms that do not require hospitalization, the governor said.
“Sa pribado o pampublikong ospital man, wala kang karapatang magpa-ospital kung mild o asymptomatic lamang. Hindi tulad ng nakikita natin halimbawa sa ibang siyudad sa Metro Manila, ang mga mayayaman kahit wala namang nararamdaman ay ospital kaagad kapag nagpositibo. ‘Yung mga may malalang karamdaman, may kinalaman man sa COVID o wala, hindi na tuloy nakakapunta sa ospital at nagiging rason na lumala ang sakit nila o ikasawi pa nila,” Escudero lamented.
Some rich and influential people, he said, even pay for hospital rooms for weeks just to secure places for their families who might end up getting COVID-19.
“That’s just not right. This pandemic has shown us just how skewed the Philippine health care system is for the rich. Even with the Universal Health Care Act, you see just how un-universal health care is, judging by who are able to access and afford quality care. This is something that we were very conscious about in Sorsogon. That’s why we strengthened home-based COVID-19 care for everyone, so hospitals can serve those who really need urgent care,” Escudero said.
Despite the devolution of health services mandated by the Local Government Code of 1991, he said LGUs have not been given sufficient autonomy to decide and implement their own health responses to public health emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and other initiatives such as vaccinations.
“Hind iyan dinevolve sa mga LGUs kaya lahat ng galaw ng LGU— ‘yung pagbabakuna, ‘yung requirements sa quarantining, ‘yung requirements sa pag RT-PCR, kung gagamitin ba ang swab antigen o hindi—lahat ‘yan ang sinusunod ng LGUs ay ang mga panuntunan mula sa DOH, na minsan hindi akma sa realidad sa mga probinsya,” Escudero said.
What LGUs need from the DOH, he said, is better disease surveillance and testing. He said the government should have invested in strengthening the capacities of institutions such as the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) before the pandemic.
“Noon pa sana ay inuna na ang pagpapalakas sa RITM at sa disease surveillance ng Department of Health para sa gayon ay mauna tayo pagdating sa kaalaman at paghahanda kung may darating man na susunod pa na pandemya o virus na kakalat sa buong mundo,” Escudero said.
The veteran lawmaker and senatorial aspirant said he would pursue legislation on public health emergency preparedness and greater accountability for health officials if he regains a seat in the Senate.