Congressmen turn ire on DOH

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives is now turning its ire on the Department of Health, saying the DOH kept secret the case of a House employee who died of an illness related to the A(H1N1) virus.

South Cotabato Rep. Arthur Pingoy, chairman of the House committee on health, is recommending to Speaker Prospero Nograles the immediate holding of a congressional inquiry on the standard operating procedures and practices of the DOH in containing the virus.

“The DOH gravely endangered the health of our employees by keeping us in the dark. I think that the House should conduct an inquiry,” Pingoy, a doctor by profession, said.

The House would check how the DOH is responding to the A(H1N1) outbreak and other similar cases after “Secretary (Francisco) Duque’s explanation that the DOH kept it secret from us because it was part of DOH protocol and to prevent panic is very ironic.”

Pingoy stressed that the DOH should better explain its action on how it is coordinating treatment of A(H1N1) victims.

Contrary to the DOH’s position, what it did was “against protocol because the DOH could have reported this to the leadership which could have exercised discrete health procedures,” he said.

He added that he could have immediately mobilized his committee and the House medical services to conduct contact tracing and other measures that would ensure the immediate containment of the disease.

“We have our own medical personnel who are competent to do this in close coordination with the DOH. It is very irresponsible for the DOH to only report this to us when one of our employees died because of A(H1N1),” he said.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez agreed with Pingoy’s observation as he pointed out that, unlike schools and universities, the House is an institution with implications on national security.

“Apart from the fact that we have at least 4,000 employees who are potential victims of this virus, the House of Representatives is also host to government dignitaries and officials of foreign governments who come to us almost every day,” said the deputy minority leader.

“This action of the DOH also endangered the health of the members of the media and resource persons who attend our hearings,” he added.

“We also have employees who are in constant liaison with other government agencies, including the Office of the President. The House of Representatives is an institution with national security implications and I wonder why the DOH did not realize that,” he said.

An-Waray party-list Rep. Florencio Noel and Cavite Rep. Crispin Remulla also raised the need to conduct an inquiry on DOH policies and procedures in responding to the A(H1N1) outbreak.

Both agreed that the department’s action on cases involving House employees might not be the best practice in containing an outbreak.

“It would have been more prudent if the DOH coordinated with us upon detection of an A(H1N1) case involving our employee,” Noel said.