Having an infectious disease hospital could have helped save the lives of many Filipinos, particularly at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aksyon Demokratiko vice-presidential candidate Doc Willie Ong said Saturday during the CNN-sponsored Vice Presidential Debates.
During the debate held at the University of Santo Tomas Quadricentennial Pavilion, Ong and six other vice-presidential candidates present were asked what concrete steps will they take for the next pandemic and how do they plan to implement it.
In response, Ong said that aside from an infectious disease hospital, building a Cancer Center of the Philippines (CCP), modern hospitals for every region, and improved access to healthcare services will help prevent deaths and will give the country a fighting chance in winning the war against Covid-19.
“Alam ko hirap na hirap na yung mga kababayan natin sa lockdown, hindi na alam ang gagawin. Simple lang po eh kailangan natin magtayo ng infectious disease hospital. Dun natin ilalagay yung mga Covid patients. Hindi pwede sa PGH (Philippine General Hospital) namamatay yung ibang pasyente natin,” Ong said in direct response to an earlier statement of Senate President Vicente Sotto III.
“Sana lang nagtayo tayo ng infectious disease hospital para hindi ilagay ang Covid patients sa PGH kasi nagrereklamo yung mga doctors nadi-displaced yung mga cancer patients, yung ooperahan, kaya marami namatay sa atin nung 2021. So, pag nakagawa tayo ng separate at least hindi na mao-over burden yung mga hospitals dahil nagkakahawaan eh, naghahawa yung Covid sa di Covid kaya di tayo makapagpa-check-up napupuno po agad. I think may tulong kung magtatayo pa tayo ng ospital para hindi tayo magkulang ng hospital bed po,” Ong explained.
Aside from these, Ong said the national government should buy the newly discovered Covid-19 medicines that can reduce hospitalization and deaths by 88%, just like what Manila is doing under Manila Mayor Isko Moreno’s leadership.
“Kailangan ng magandang gamot para sa Covid. May gamot na po para sa Covid, Paxlovid ang pangalan darating sa Maynila (at) na order ni Mayor Isko Moreno, February 27, napakaganda nito. Sa Amerika bininigay ito hindi ko alam bakit hindi natin binibili. So yung Remdesivir, Paxlovid and others na gagawin natin,” he said.
Despite not having campaign funds to finance his bid for the VP post, Ong stressed that he has what it takes to accomplish the job of the vice president given his vast experience in the field of medicine as he is usually faced with difficult circumstances particularly in dealing with patients.
“Ako po ay isang doktor, internist at cardiologist. Mahirap po maging cardiologist. ’Pag nagloko ang puso ng pasyente, we have to decide in 10 seconds. ’Yun stressful pero sanay ako sa ganun. Dito sa gobyerno, marami kang adviser. Pwede ka ba maghintay ng isang linggo bago mag-decide,” Ong said.
Ong previously expressed alarm over the 800,000 recorded deaths in 2021 even as he said that reducing the total number of deaths per year should be a top government priority.
His remarks were in response to a statement made by Commission on Population and Development executive director Dr. Juan A. Perez that the country has hit its highest mortality rate in 63 years as it tallied an estimated 800,000 deaths by the end of 2021.
According to the PopCom report, ischemic heart disease is the top cause of death in the country with more than 110,000 Filipinos dying from the illness in 2021. This represents an increase of 24,000 deaths as compared to around 86,000 deaths due to heart disease in 2020. Meanwhile, more than 75,000 people died due to COVID-19 in 2021, making it the second leading cause of death among Filipinos.
"Poor patients cannot access tele-consults or use Zoom apps. They need face-to-face check-ups. We need to build more hospitals to address the increasing death toll in the last 2 years of the pandemic. This trend cannot continue anymore," Ong said.
A cardiologist and internist, the 58-year-old Ong maintained that the national government should invest in healthcare, health professionals, and free medicines to address the top killer diseases in the country.
“We should provide free medicines for high blood pressure, diabetes, Covid-19, heart disease, and mental health because this will reduce the total number of deaths per year,” Ong said.
“The National government should buy newly discovered Covid-19 medicines that can reduce hospitalization and deaths by 88%, just like what Manila is doing under Mayor Isko's leadership,” he said.
The vice-presidential aspirant added that the 10-storey fully equipped Bagong Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center built by the Manila LGU in two years can be a model that can be replicated into 17 regional hospitals. Ong also noted that the government should also improve the welfare of healthcare workers in the country.
Health is a priority under the Bilis Kilos 10-Point Economic Agenda recently unveiled by Aksyon Demokrartiko presidential bet Isko Moreno Domagoso.
To improve the country’s health care system, Moreno said his administration will build more public hospitals and health care centers throughout the country, with a target of providing 107,000 additional hospital beds in his first 1,000 days in office.
The 47-year-old presidential aspirant also plans to achieve a ratio of one doctor per 1,000 Filipinos equitably distributed across the country by providing scholarships to 10,000 medical students per year. He also promised to increase the salary of nurses and other healthcare workers.
But foremost will be the rollout of a clear pandemic response roadmap that aims to fully protect all Filipinos against COVID-19 by December 31 of 2022 to open up the economy, and make the country prepared for future pandemics.
