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Senate goes on 2-week lockdown, suspends session until Aug. 19
The Philippine Senate will undergo a two-week lockdown from August 4 to 18, suspending regular sessions until August 19, in support of healthcare frontliners' call for a 'timeout' amid rising COVID-19 cases.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III consulted his colleagues, who all backed the proposal to implement an enhanced community quarantine within the Senate premises.
Despite the lockdown, the hearing into the alleged corruption at PhilHealth will proceed with a limited number of staff and resource persons physically present.
Crucial hearings and the bicameral conference for the Bayanihan 2 bill are expected to continue.
Senator Richard Gordon suggested that the PhilHealth probe should also encompass the nation's COVID-19 capabilities and response plans.
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The Senate is considering a two-week enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) to support overwhelmed medical frontliners battling rising COVID-19 cases.
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Senator Panfilo Lacson has called for a "moratorium on corruption" within the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
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President Rodrigo Duterte has directed the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to address the urgent appeal of medical frontliners for a two-week Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Mega Manila and surrounding areas.
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A "PhilHealth mafia" is believed to be actively controlling the agency's resources through influence peddling, according to Senator Panfilo Lacson.
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