From prophylaxis to science-based approach, 3 VP bets weigh in on pandemic management

At least three vice presidential candidates in the 2022 elections on Saturday gave their two cents on pandemic management during a debate hosted by CNN Philippines.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he wanted the government to procure medicines that could prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“Treatment, prevention, prophylaxis. I think we should go there," he said during a debate hosted by CNN Philippines

"The vaccination program is good. But what do we do after six months? After six months, we'll ask Congress again for P78 billion para mabili na naman (are we going to buy again) for 100 million Filipinos, every six months,” he said.

“So I think, we should be concentrating more on the prophylaxis. There are many new inventions or discoveries I should say in other parts of the world.”

He also pointed the need for faster approval of these medicines by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Labor Party Philippines nominee Manny Lopez, meanwhile, said he would utilize a "science-based," "cause-effective" and pragmatic approach to the pandemic management.

Lopez appealed to the Filipinos' "bayanihan spirit," saying that those in the level of decision-making should make it a point to have policies that address issues beyond political and commercial interests.

"We could do better by caring more for each other and for caring for our country and our people," Lopez said.

Rizalito David, for his part, proposed to create a summit with the national consensus and scientific community to address the country’s recovery amid COVID-19 pandemic.

David, currently the executive director of Pro-Life Philippines Foundation, pushed for a national consensus with all the health experts and officials to create a cohesive strategy against the viral disease.

“Firstly, kailangan magkaroon summit para magkaroon ng consensus and scientific community kung ano nga ba ang pandemyang ito or in this particular case yung COVID, ang nangyayri po kasi sa atin kung ano anong restrictions ang ating ginawa sa isang banda lamang ng siyensya ang ating pinakinggan,” David said.

(Firstly, there is a need for a summit to have a consensus and scientific community on COVID-19 pandemic. What happened to us is there are a lot of restrictions, we only heard one side of scientific experts.)

He said the government resorted to lockdowns because it did not listen to the scientific community.

“Dahil ang gobyerno lamang ang nagsagawa ng pamamaraan hindi natin pinakinggan yung mga ibang siyentipiko at mga doktor kaya yan ang nangyari sa atin. Dapat di na po mauulit yan kailangan natin talaga ng isang national consensus on what to do with COVID and with other pandemic that will hit us in the future,” he said.

(Because only the government implemented the strategy, we did not listen to other scientists and doctors. So that's what happened to us. We really need a national consensus on what to do with COVID and other pandemic that will hit us in the future.)

The other vice presidential candidates present in the debate -- Senator Francis Pangilinan, former Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello, Dr. Willie Ong, and Carlos Serapio -- were asked about pandemic management. -- Hana Bordey, Jamil Santos and Richa Noriega/KBK, GMA News