Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. | CDND file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is set to attend the Senate’s “hybrid public hearing” this Tuesday, June 15, that will tackle issues concerning the government’s response towards the COVID-19 pandemic.
Garcia, in a text message sent to reporters, confirmed that she received an invitation from Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III to attend the hearing.
“Yes. (I will attend) virtually,” she said.
A copy of the invitation letter addressed to Cebu’s governor was also furnished to members of the media.
It stated that the upper chamber of Congress will reconvene this Tuesday to continue “discussions and concomitant concerns on the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program.”
Sotto also said the Senate will be deliberating on the “utilization of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Program’s budgetary provisions and the feasibility of amending IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease) quarantine guidelines, with the end in view to streamline the processes, evaluate existing protocols, and the possibility of exempting fully vaccinated individuals from mandatory travel quarantine.”
In turn, he invited Garcia “to shed light on the above-mentioned matter.”
At least nine Senators backed Cebu’s Swab-Upon-Arrival policy for arriving Returning Overseas Filipinos (ROFs) and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), which swayed away from those implemented by IATF.
Aside from Sotto, others who expressed support on the policy, which Garcia first introduced through Executive Order (EO) No. 17 in March, were Senators Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Win Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Francis Tolentino, Joel Villanueva, and Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri.
The Senate’s Committee of the Whole began conducting an inquiry on the National COVID-19 Vaccination program through Adopted Senate Resolution No. 79 passed in December 2020.
Recently, Senators Panfilo Lacson and Francis Pangilinan called on the national government to be transparent about its request for an additional P25 billion supposedly to procure COVID-19 vaccines, as they expressed concern this could lead to an oversupply of vaccines or worse, corruption./with reports from INQUIRER.net
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