DOST: “The VIP will not be privatized as envisioned.”
DOST – The Department of Science and Technology has assured lawmakers from the House of Representatives that the proposed Virology Institute of the Philippines will not be privatized.
Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT Teachers) Party-list Representative France Castro raised those concerns during the joint meeting of the House Committee on Health and the Committee on Science and Technology last Thursday to discuss proposals instituting the Virology Institute of the Philippines.
Castro raised those concerns after the substitute bill contained a provision pertaining to a PPP (public-private partnership) deal. She asked whether private firms would come in later on if the Philippines pushes for the development of vaccines in the future.
DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr., in response to Castro’s question, said that a Fairness Opinion Board — an independent body outside of DOST — would be included in the IRR (Implementing Rules and Regulations) as part of safeguarding the country’s rights to the vaccines that would be produced through the Virology Institute of the Philippines.
“The VIP will not be privatized as envisioned. And so, this will be the research arm of the government,” Solidum said. “But as to the commercialization of the technologies that will be developed, talagang patungo tayo dyan as mentioned in the Republic Act. No. 10055 or the Technology Transfer Act because we might not be able to sustain it within the government to produce everything because we have industry partners naman.”
READ ALSO: President Bongbong Marcos Pushes For Creation Of Disease Control, Virology Centers Anew
Bills proposing the creation of a Virology Institute of the Philippines have been approved during the joint hearing earlier, including House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’ House Bill No. 10
It was last August when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. pushed for the creation of a disease control center and a virology center to help improve the healthcare system in the Philippines.
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