President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has renewed his push for the creation of a virology institute and disease prevention and control center in the Philippines.
Speaking at the 15th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week celebration in Pampanga, Marcos assured his audience that the two proposed agencies can help the government respond better to future pandemics.
“As your President, I hope my presence here today gives a clear signal that this administration continues to support your endeavors so that, together, we can create an enabling environment for the Filipino research community that fosters collaboration and cooperation that will yield solutions that will make lives better for our fellow men and women,” he said.
“We have been in consultation with the House of Representatives and the Senate to create these agencies. We will continue to work so that our people are safer, so that our citizens have better access to health care, and so that the quality of our health care will improve,” he said.
The Chief Executive also paid tribute to the Filipino health researchers for their hard work amid the Covid-19 crisis.
“I always start with a note of gratitude and of thanks for your sacrifice and for the risks that you take, and all that you have been able to do to help us through this pandemic,” Marcos said.
“It is nothing less than having you helping to keep millions of people alive. There is nothing more heroic in my mind than what you have achieved.”
He recalled that he was one of the “very early sufferers” as he had tested positive for Covid-19 after coming home from Spain in the second week of March 2020.
“Thank you not only from me as a sufferer of Covid, but for all the millions who somehow have reaped the benefit of your hard work,” he said.
Mr. Marcos credited the work that scientists did in developing the genome sequencing, the local test kits, and the virus spread modeling system. “This was all a fruit of your partnership, and it is something that has never been seen before,” he said.
Marcos graced the week-long PNHRS celebration, which serves as a venue for health researchers to share their insights and experiences in health research and development. It is celebrated every second week of August under Presidential Proclamation 1309 of June 2007.