Senate President Vicente Sotto III believes the fund of the DOH will only be put to waste if the plan of Secretary Francisco Duque III to hire contact tracers pushes through.
“It will be wiser and more practical to divert the P11.7 billion for the treatment of patients. We need funds to treat our sick kababayans. Mas mahalagang gamitin na lang ang pondong ito para sa pagbili ng mga gamot at medical equipment na makakatulong sa paggaling ng mga pasyente (It is more important to use this fund to buy medicines and medical equipment that will aid in the recuperation of patients),” Sotto says.
“The DOH does not need to hire new people to do contact tracing. It can coordinate with other government offices and tap displaced employees to carry out the task at no additional cost to the government,” Sotto adds.
Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson is proposing the use of technology for contact tracing such as the application COVID19 Tracker.
Lacson explains it can trace the source of a patient since it is connected to the GPS of the mobile phone. It has a self-assessment and numbers that can be contacted for those experiencing symptoms. – Report from Eunice Samonte
