Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 30) — Dismissing calls to abolish the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), Malacañang said the policies implemented by the task force have helped prevent more deaths due to COVID-19.
“We do not claim to have been perfect, but certainly let’s give due recognition where it is due,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told a Palace briefing
“Dahil nakikita naman natin, naiiwasan natin ang mas marami pa sanang kamatayan kung di po tayo nag-implement ng mga measures na isinangguni at binuo po ng IATF,” said Roque, who is also IATF spokesperson.
[Translation: We can see that we were able to prevent more deaths if we did not implement the measures that were pushed by the IATF.]
Malacañang was reacting to Senator Joel Villanueva’s claims that the IATF is “not working” and that local government units should take over in addressing the pandemic.
“Kung wala pong IATF, wala po tayong naging desisyon sa pagbili ng bakuna para sa buong bayan at sa buong bansa, wala po tayong mga alert level systems at quarantine classifications,” said Roque. “Mahirap pong gawin ‘yan kung walang kumukumpas.”
[Translation: If we do not have the IATF, we will not have any decision when it comes to procuring vaccines for the whole country and we will not have alert level systems and quarantine classifications. That will not be possible if no one is overseeing that.]
Roque said the country is currently ranked 105th in the whole world when it comes to cases fatality rate.
To date, the country’s death toll is at 38,294 after 130 new fatalities were recorded.
The IATF-EID was created through then President Benigno Aquino III’s Executive Order No. 168. It was established to assess, monitor, and prevent the spread of any infectious diseases in the country.
