Hontiveros urges DOH, IATF for automatic travel bans

Senator Risa Hontiveros is urging the Department of Health (DOH) and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to establish clear guidelines for implementing automatic travel bans.

She believes quick enforcement of strict guidelines against the entry of nationals from countries with high COVID-19 infections or new variants is necessary to prevent the potential entry of dangerous strains into the Philippines.

Hontiveros criticized Health Secretary Francisco Duque III for initially downplaying a new double-mutant variant from India, despite reports of severe infections among children there.

She questioned if the situation in India, with people lying on the streets outside hospitals, was not concerning to the Health Secretary.

Hontiveros emphasized the need for immediate travel bans, asking if the government would wait for the Philippines to suffer the same fate as India.