Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH SERVICE

REFERENCE AND RESEARCH BUREAU

Draft Speech for Rep. Ciriaco B. Gato

Delegate
ASEAN Parliamentary Civic Partnership Workshop Panel 3

“The Role of Parliaments in Promoting Inclusive and Sustainable

Responses to Health Emergencies in Consideration of Case Studies on
Effectiveness and Impediments in National Covid-19 Responses”

August 10-11, 2022

Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

The Honorable AIPA Secretary General Nguyen Tuong Van, The

Honorable Chairwoman on Health, Social Affairs, Veteran, Youth
Rehabilitation, Labour, Vocational Training and Women’s Affairs, Her
Excellency Mrs. LORK Kheng, The Honorable PCAsia Executive
Director Mr. Darrith KIM YEAT, esteemed delegates and guests – Good
Morning!

During these precarious times of the persisting pandemic, swift,

decisive and comprehensive national response to emergencies,

catastrophes, and disasters have dominated both mainstream and digital

social media discussions more than in any period in our recent history.

1|Page
This is the inevitable product of the global devastation and shell-shock

experience from the destructive and paralyzing impact of the COVID-19

Virus.

While the worst is said to be over, humanity is still not completely

out of the woods yet – the COVID-19 pandemic, Mother Nature’s most

vicious biological wrath, one of the most virulent, comparable only to the

deadliest of plagues in history such as the Bubonic Plague, Smallpox,

and the Spanish Flu, continues to hound and befuddle most nations as we

gather today1.

During the height of the pandemic, the Philippine government

rapid response was mainly characterized by the imposition of heavy

lockdowns and strict implementation of essential travel movement control

protocols. Medical and health care frontliners were placed on high alert

status mode in order to swiftly respond to the public’s need for immediate

healthcare. Ancillary service sectors such as the law enforcement

agencies and disaster first response units were also deployed to the

frontlines to provide security, maintain peace and order and to implement

local quarantine measures and international border lockdowns.

1
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/historys-seven-deadliest-plagues

2|Page
 The Philippines as of July 17, 2022 has registered the following

COVID-19 figures:

- 3,733,101 total cases;

- 19,873 active cases; and

- 60,641 deaths.2

These numbers change by the hour. But today, the Philippines, has

significantly reduced the almost 40,000 new daily cases reported during

the height of the highly infectious Omicron variant surge last January

2022.3 The weekly increase of cases has drastically gone down to 13,066

cases for the week, far from the rate of transmission experienced during

the critical month of January 2022.

Truth be told, we have come a long way – while it was a whole-of-

government approach, the Congress of the Philippines, as the nation’s

legislative body, plays a pivotal role in supporting and supplementing the

efforts of those who bravely sacrificed their lives fighting this contagion,

day and night.

2
https://doh.gov.ph/covid19tracker
3
https://www.rappler.com/nation/philippines-records-all-time-high-covid-19-cases-january-15-2022/

3|Page
 Without the benefit of a playbook, and with no related precedents

to serve as a guide to handle the epic catastrophe of Covid-19, time was

of the utmost essence. The Philippine government acted as swiftly as it

could, mustering all its powers and resources to help avert the devastating

impact of the pandemic and implement rapid response mitigation

interventions.

The Philippine Congress for its part had to act fast. In record time,

it enacted Republic Act No. 11469, or the “Bayanihan to Heal As One

Act.”4 Rooted in the Filipino value of “Bayanihan”, which roughly

translates as “community acting for everyone’s good”, the law vested

then President Rodrigo Duterte emergency powers to confront the raging

pandemic, in pursuance of the state policy of providing for the general

welfare and protecting of public health.

Through this vital legislation, Congress among other things,

employed measures to help alleviate and mitigate the harsh economic

impact of the pandemic on the general public, most especially the

marginalized sectors of society, who were severely affected by the

imposition of lockdowns and sudden disruption of the basic food supply

chain. Rent collection moratorium was imposed which made it possible

4
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/03mar/20200324-RA-11469-RRD.pdf

4|Page
for tenants to re-allocate precious funds for more immediate needs such

as food and medicine. Government-mandated restructuring of mortgage

arrears payments also eased up the mounting financial obligations of cash

strapped families. Cash subsidies and basic goods were also distributed to

individual households to ensure that the basic needs of the public were

provided. Subsequently, Republic Act No. 11494, the “Bayanihan to Heal

as One Act” was passed into law to supplement relief and rehabilitation

efforts.

Another step towards the right direction was ensuring the

maximum efficiency of the Government’s Covid-19 inoculation program.

Congress enacted Republic Act No. 11525, known as the “Covid-19

Vaccination Program Act of 2021”, which streamlined the procurement

process by which vaccines are obtained by the Government. This ensured

transparency and accountability in the procurement process. It also

institutionalized the issuance of Vaccine Cards as proof of people’s

vaccination status. This government effort to inoculate all Filipinos has

already resulted in the vaccination of 71,560,263 Filipinos, or 65.30% of

the total population.5

5
As of 18 July 2022. See https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/philippines

5|Page
 On the economic side of things, one of the primary problems which

the Philippines faced during the height of the pandemic was the closure of

many businesses establishments. To combat this and duly address the

economic downturn brought about by Covid-19, Congress enacted

Republic Act No. 11534, or the “Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives

for Enterprises Act”6. Under this new tax measure, tax reforms were

instituted to provide tax relief to businesses, particularly corporations, by

decreasing existing tax rates. The measure acts as a form of stimulus

which is expected to bring forth almost One Trillion pesos worth of tax

relief to businesses in order to encourage growth7. This is especially

critical during this prolonged period of the COVID-19 crisis wherein

businesses, particularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

need financial relief and assistance.

Also, as one will observe with COVID-19, its onset has close

resemblance with flu-like symptoms; thus, the proper management of

symptoms requires medicines which should be available to virtually all

the people. In this light, it is fortunate that the Congress of the Philippines

passed prior to the pandemic, Republic Act No. 9502, or the “

Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2000”.

6
https://www.bir.gov.ph/index.php/create.html
7
https://taxreform.dof.gov.ph/tax-reform-packages/p2-corporate-recovery-and-tax-incentives-for-
enterprises-act/#:~:text=The%20Corporate%20Recovery%20and%20Tax,over%20the%20next
%2010%20years.

6|Page
This law ensured that medicines are accessible to all by limiting patent

rights over medicines. It also allowed the government access to newly

developed medicines regardless of patent status, and installed price

regulations on specific drugs to ensure that they can be purchased by the

public at a cheaper price.

Furthermore, funding for the continuous operations of government

offices directly involved in addressing healthcare matters, as well as

residual matters relative to them, is allocated by Congress. The

Constitution of the Philippines grants the House of Representatives the

mandate to enact appropriation measures through the Annual General

Appropriations Act, which basically sets the annual budget of all

government offices. Through this, and most critically during the

pandemic, Congress made sure that the wheels of government do not stop

turning so that it may properly address the needs of the people. This is

very crucial considering the ensuing chaos and confusion that the

COVID-19 pandemic inflicted during its early stages when most

government offices were almost shut down. Without government funding,

which is basically provided through Congress, government operations

would have come to a grinding halt.

7|Page
 Not only on matters of policy formulation can Congress be counted

upon in relation to Emergency Health Crisis Response; matters pertaining

to whether funds are being properly utilized are also tackled by Congress.

It may exercise its power of inquiry in aid of legislation 8, as well as

question hour privileges9, to ensure that public funds are being spent

wisely. This is also to ensure transparency and accountability in the use

of funds during the pandemic.

These are just some of the things that the Congress of the

Philippines has done to help ameliorate the difficult plight of Filipinos,

and alleviate the suffering they have to endure during the onslaught of

COVID-19.

But like every government effort, these measures experience

setbacks coming from both inherent factors and external sources.

First of these limitations is the refusal of some members of the

public to get vaccinated. The rise of the so-called “antivaxxers” over the

past two years, along with their continuous efforts to misinform or misled

the public about the efficacy and safety of vaccines, have resulted in low

8
Sec. 21, Art. VI, 1987 Constitution.
9
Sec. 22, Art. VI, 1987 Constitution.

8|Page
percentage for COVID-19 inoculation in some vaccination centers across

the Philippines, especially in rural areas. Even with the vaccination

programs and policies set by both laws and regulations, many people still

refuse to get vaccinated or boosted. While the Philippines enjoys a

relatively high vaccination rate of 65%, this still leaves 35% of the

population exposed to the COVID-19 virus, without any immunity or

protection.

Another stumbling block confronted by the Philippines during the

COVID-19 pandemic is the economic supply chain disruption brought

about by the inherent mobility restrictions during the COVID-19

emergency. As result, severe contractions in Gross Domestic Product

were recorded not just in the Philippines, but all over the world. The

Philippines, for the year 2020, suffered a record-high 9.5% GDP

contraction. One of the factors that primarily contributed to this seeming

economic paleness was the severe diminution of trade supply lines and

the pandemic response which was primarily hinged on lockdowns and

severe mobility restrictions. This in turn resulted in harsh logistical

challenges to businesses, making the transport of goods and basic

commodities extremely difficult, if not downright impossible. This

9|Page
resulted in a vicious cycle of eventual low consumer demand, to virtually

inexistent supplies and severe battering of the economy.

Faced with these seemingly insurmountable socio-economic

challenges, the Philippines has now instituted several moves to ensure

that trade connectivity and supply lines become unhampered; the

National Economic Development Agency (or the NEDA) laid out a three-

phased intervention program to deal with the pandemic while driving the

economy up.10 The initial phase of the economic intervention program

involves focusing on the medical aspect of the pandemic in order to

ensure that the immediate health of the public is met, thereafter focusing

on economic aspects to support business performance and improve

consumer economic engagement.

Last among the most known setbacks in governmental action

during the height of the pandemic is the volatility of the COVID-19 virus

itself. While the virus was a problem in itself, to begin with, its volatility

in terms of mutations has sparked several problems not just for the

Philippines, but the rest of the world as well. From the first Alpha variant,

to the deadly Delta, all the way to the current highly contagious Omicron

10
https://neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/NEDA_Addressing-the-Social-and-Economic-
Impact-of-the-COVID-19-Pandemic.pdf

10 | P a g e
variant, these virus mutations which had varying symptoms and

characteristics have resulted in very unpredictable episodes in terms of

government response. After the impact of the first wave of COVID-19

variants, government household financial assistance was already

exhausted. Fortunately, Divine Intervention stepped in, and slowly and

dramatically the overall pandemic situation improved and continued to

progress towards normalization of the lives of the people. But we must all

be vigilant because one false miscalculation could possibly set us back to

square one. We must bear in mind that the COVID -19 virus is still very

much alive and it may suddenly surge with more virulence.

With these in mind, the past 3 years were indeed very trying times,

but we have all soldiered on.

Basically, the ultimate point is that Parliaments have proven to be

invaluable allies in every nation’s fight against COVID-19. Without the

Parliament, the Executive Branch will have a difficult time in the face of

extreme need and calamity. Public healthcare facilities on their own, as

part of the executive offices of government, cannot mobilize enough

resources to address healthcare crises. Without laws to address

emergency situations, emergency powers cannot be exercised. The

11 | P a g e
President or Prime Minister’s hands are tied. It cannot be emphasized

enough – Parliaments provide the invaluable support mechanism to those

in the frontlines; from the President, the Prime Minister, the Ministers,

down to the doctors, the nurses, and everyone else serving the frontlines -

Parliaments serve as the backbone in providing support to the whole of

government and the people.

Down the road, the Congress of the Philippines, as well as the

other State Parliaments, must now think of measures to address the post-

COVID-19 world scenario. While there is still positivity going around,

with some sense of normalcy setting in, we must now prepare for a post-

pandemic world with the goal of at least coming close to pre-pandemic

levels. As in any catastrophe, oftentimes, it is the recovery and clean-up

that is most crucial. During the height of the pandemic, everyone had

safety and remedy in mind, thinking of sure-fire ways to end the

pandemic and keep everyone safe. Now that the tide has gradually turned,

and the World is now approaching a new dawn after the long episode of

darkness, it is up to Parliaments to ensure that the march towards

normalcy of the general public is sustained and nobody is left behind.

12 | P a g e
File Name: Rep Gato Speech AIPA
RRB/CVA/LDPD 07/21/22
4:40pm

13 | P a g e