CEBU CITY, Philippines – The legislative body of the provincial government in Cebu is ready to meet the medical experts and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF).
Cebu 3rd District Board Member and lawyer John Ismael Borgonia said they will be passing during the next regular session of the Provincial Board a resolution to formally invite members and experts of IATF.
“Mag pasar ta ug resolution on Monday (June 21), formally inviting medical experts from the national IATF to shed light (on why they question Cebu’s Swab-Upon-Arrival policy),” Borgonia told reporters in a teleconference on Wednesday, June 16.
(We will be passing a resolution on Monday, formally inviting medical experts from the national IATF to shed light on why they question Cebu’s Swab-Upon-Arrival policy.)
Borgonia said they are aiming for officials belonging to the national government’s anti-COVID task force to present their findings, including their so-called critique on how Cebu managed the virus outbreak, this June 28.
He also said they will be inviting local health experts, including Provincial Health Officer Dr. Christina Gianggo and chief pathologist of the Central Visayas office of the Department of Health (DOH-7), Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, to present Cebu’s data to prove why the province decided to implement a Swab-Upon-Arrival policy.
“Yes, we are ready. We will be inviting Dr. Loreche and Dr. Gianggo because we believe in their expertise and have the right data to show,” explained Borgonia in a mix of Cebuano and English.
During the Senate Hearing on Tuesday, June 15, that discussed the national government’s vaccination campaign and quarantine rules, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia requested the Provincial Board to review Ordinance No. 2021-04 or also known as the Swab-Upon-Arrival policy.
In doing so, the governor asked the Technical Advisory Group and members of IATF to show their data before the Provincial Board.
/bmjo
READ: Gwen invites IATF consultants to present data before Cebu board members