WHILE intent on pushing for the passage of the proposed Public Health Emergency bill, the Department of Health (DOH) is not ruling out the possibility of seeking an extension of the declaration of the “state of calamity” due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic beyond December 31.
Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the DOH is likely to recommend the extension of the state of calamity to President Marcos if the measure, which has been tagged as a priority bill, is not approved in Congress on time.
“If the bill is not passed by December, one of our options is to request, of course to the Office of the President, an extension of the State of Calamity,” said Vergeire in a press briefing on Tuesday.
The health department has been pushing for the passage of the bill that will allow the government to take actions normally under a state of calamity sans the need for an official declaration.
These include purchase of vaccines, implement vaccination, activate responses for health emergencies, and provide benefits to healthcare workers.
Vergeire said if the measure is passed, it will no longer be unnecessary to extend the declaration of the COVID state of calamity beyond December 31.
“We are giving our best, together with the House of Representatives and the Senate, so that this will be passed before the year ends,” she said, adding there are proposals to merge the bill with another measure that recently hurdled the committee level at the House of Representatives.
“One recommendation was to just merge the Public Health Emergency bill with the Philippine Center for Disease Control bill,” she said.
The state of calamity was first declared by former President Duterte on March 16, 2020 after the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. It was extended by President Marcos until the end of the year.
