Lacson to push for virology institute as first line of defense vs COVID 

MANILA, Philippines — If elected president, Sen. Panfilo "Ping" Lacson will pursue development of a virology institute that will act as the country's first line of defense against COVID-19 and other viruses. 

The Partido Reporma standard-bearer said Sunday that the planned Philippine Virology Science and Technology Institute will serve as the country's research and development hub which will address the threat of COVID, its future mutations and other novel viruses. 

"I will pursue this because this will save us. We will no longer import know-how. We will strengthen research and development through this institute," Lacson said in Filipino in a statement. 

"It is no longer a question of whether we are ready. We should always be ready for the next pandemic, be it Deltacron or any other variant, or any new pandemic," he added.

The 2022 budget has earmarked some P982 million as a start-up fund for such an institute, Lacson said.

A year into the pandemic, lawmakers filed a bill which sought the creation of a virology and vaccine institute. 

According to Senate Bill 2241, filed by Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, the presence of such an institution make the country globally-competitive in the field of science and technology, the "best weapon" which the country can use against COVID-19.

The Senate has yet to deliberate on the measure. 

Lacson's recent call to set up an institution which specializes in the study of viruses echoes the sentiments of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). 

Earlier this month, the Science and Technology Department said it supported its creation, saying that it will equip the country with the resouces and capability to develop vaccines against existing and emerging diseases. 

"The creation of our own Virology Institute is the first step in becoming self-reliant in developing and producing our own vaccines," DOST Undersecretary for Research and Development Rowena Cristina Guevara said in an emailed statement on March 7.