Kamara tumutol sa ‘reso’ ng DOH

BINABALEWALA ng Department of Health (DOH) ang pribadong sektor na nais tumulong sa pagbili ng bakuna para sa kanilang milyon-milyong empleyado.

Ayon sa mga miyem­bro mababang kapulu­ngan, may resolusyon ang DOH na harangin ang partisipasyon ng mga kompanya ng tabako, infant formula, soft drinks at beer na makabili ng bakuna para sa kanilang mga empleyado at dependents.

Ayon kay Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, ng House ways and means committee, mistulang hhinahharang ng DOH ang pribadong sektor para makatulong sa pagbabakuna.

“There seems to be nothing in the law that prevents the kind of interactions required to sign vaccine agreements. The DOH is really stretching its authority here, and every rule they are introducing on top of all the others seems to just complicate our response without getting anything meaningful against COVID-19 done,” ayon kay Salceda.

Sa draft DOH order, ang mga kompanyang gumagawa at nagbebenta ng mga produktong naka­sisira sa kalusugan ay pagbabawalang bumili ng bakuna para sa kanilang mga empleyado.

Ang order ng DOH ay magsisilbing Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) sa vaccination program alinsunod sa Republic Act (RA) 11525.

Nanawagan si House Deputy Minority Leader Marikina City Rep. Estella Quimbo sa DOH na huwag magpadalos-dalos sa pagharang sa pribadong sektor na tumulong sa programa ng pagbaba­kuna ng gobyerno.

“We are fortunate that we have a proactive private sector that has expressed willingness to co-finance the vaccine program and will, in effect, protect as many Filipinos as possible. The proposed policy of preventing companies that are deemed to be engaged in activities that are contrary to public health reflects a misappreciation by its proponents of the public health mandate of the DOH during a pandemic,” ani Quimbo.

“So long as companies are engaged in legitimate business, they must be allowed to participate in the country’s vaccine program and their employees and families should not be unreasonably set apart. If the DOH must assess which entities it should not engage with, their decision should be based on the risk that such engagement would pose to the roll-out of more vaccines to Filipinos,” dagdag ni Quimbo.

“DOH should be thinking of ways how to go around hurdles to vaccine procurement and distribution, instead of being the one putting up obstacles,” ani Muntinlula Rep. Ruffy Biazon.

Para kay Deputy Speaker Rep. Bienve­nido Abante, kahit anong tulong mula sa pribadong sektor ay dapat tangkilikin ng gobyerno para mapa­bilis ang kampanya sa bakuna.

“Any policy that runs counter to this objective, such as barring particular companies from securing vaccines, should be seriously reconsidered by the DOH,” ani Abante.

(GERRY BALDO)