THE Department of Health (DOH) is discussing with the Office of the President (OP) the possibility of extending the state of calamity to next year, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said yesterday.
The state of calamity ends of December 31.
Vergeire said an extension is needed after Congress failed to pass bill creating the Center for Disease Control before it went on holiday break.
The CDC bill has been merged with the Public Emergency Health Bill which the DOH h as been pushing. The emergency health bill seeks to allow government to take actions normally taken under a state of calamity without the need for an official declaration. These include purchase of vaccines, implementation of vaccination operations, activating responses for health emergencies, and providing benefits to healthcare workers.
The passage of the CDC law would have removed the necessity of extending the state of calamity declaration.
The DOH has said it would seek an extension of the state of calamity it the CDC law is not passed on time.
“The CDC bill is at the level of the House of Representatives. It has not been elevated to the Senate yet. They already went on a break so it was not passed yet,” said Vergeire.
A six-month nationwide state of calamity, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was declared by former President Duterte in March 2020. It was later extended up to September 2021 then to September 2022.12.20
President Marcos Jr., who assumed office last June, extended the calamity period to December 31.
