Senate to tackle Ebola preparedness today

MANILA, Philippines - As Congress resumes session today after a three-week break, the Senate will look into the country’s preparedness to address the Ebola outbreak should the virus reach Philippine shores.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, chairperson of the Senate committee on health and demography, is set to conduct a public hearing on Ebola possibly before Congress goes on another long break for the All Saints’ Day weekend, sometimes referred to as “Undas.”

Guingona’s staff said the date of the public hearing would be announced as soon as the committee finalizes the list of resource persons, among them Health Secretary Enrique Ona.

The conduct of public hearing will be in response to the resolution filed by Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago directing the proper committee to conduct an inquiry on the report that the country is on high alert against smuggled wild animals from Africa, in light of the deadly Ebola virus outbreak.

In another resolution, Santiago sought for an inquiry into the preparedness of the country’s health and hospital personnel in case of the entry of Ebola virus in the Philippines.

“It is imperative for the Senate to institute immediate measures to mitigate a possible Ebola outbreak in the country, as well as strengthening existing legislation based on this epidemic to prepare the country for any impending health threat,” Santiago said in the resolution.

Dr. Leopoldo Vega, director of the Southern Philippines Medical Center, a leading hospital in Mindanao, said that the best way to prevent the spread of Ebola virus is to strictly impose a 21-day isolation period on those suspected of being exposed to the virus, especially passengers from Ebola-plagued countries in Africa.

He said the quarantine should start upon the arrival of the passengers at airports, and that 21 days are enough time for the incubation period of the virus. – With Edith Regalado