The House of Representatives approved bills creating PH CDC and virology institute on final reading.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved bills seeking to establish the Philippine Center for Disease Control (CDC) and a virology research institute in the Philippines on third and final reading as the country continued to battle the coronavirus pandemic.
Voting 198-0-0, the lower chamber approved on third and final reading House Bill 9559 or the “Virology Institute of the Philippines Act”.
The proposed bill will help the country be prepared in case a pandemic could hit the Philippines again. In addition, the said bill will serve as the premier research and development (R&D) institute in the field of virology, encompassing all areas in viruses and viral diseases in humans, animals, and plants.
Also, the said bill shall act as a venue for scientists, both local and outside the country, to work collaboratively in order to study viruses of agricultural, clinical, industrial, and environmental importance.
READ ALSO: President Duterte Pushes For Creation Of Vaccine Institute, PH CDC
Voting 193-6-0, the lower chamber also approved on third and final reading House Bill 9560 or the “Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control Act”.
The said bill will be focusing on fighting infectious diseases. In addition, the said bill will be an independent agency combining the Department of Health’s Epidemiology Bureau and Disease Prevention and Control Bureau “giving it more powers and more resources”.
During his last State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Rodrigo Duterte had encouraged Congress to pass the bills creating those entities dedicated to emerging and re-emerging diseases.
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