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Senator wants council formed vs deadly flu


MANILA, Philippines - A senator is seeking the creation of a public health emergency council to deal with the A/H1N1 (swine flu) problem. Sen. Rodolfo Biazon filed last Wednesday Senate Bill No. 3204 mandating the Public Health Emergency Council to draw up a battle plan against a public health emergency. "The Philippine Health Emergency Council should be at the forefront in our fight against biological, chemical or nuclear health threats through its programs on preparation, management and disposal," Biazon said in a statement posted on the Senate Web site. Biazon's bill, which is a counterpart of a House of Representatives bill filed by his son, Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon, recommends that the council include the Health secretary as chairman. Members include the secretaries of Interior and Local Government, Trade and Industry, National Defense, and the Press Secretary. "Other government agencies not under the jurisdiction or authority of the standing members of the Council may be included as the need as determined by the Council arises," Biazon said in his bill. The bill further provides that the Public Health Emergency Council convene within six months of its activation. After it has drawn up a plan, it should conduct a briefing for all local government units about the framework that will be the response to any public health emergency. "The President, upon the recommendation of the secretary of Health, may declare a state of public health emergency and immediately convene the Council. The basis for such a declaration shall be made public by the Council through the mass media and a written report submitted to both Houses of Congress," the bill added. Biazon said that even if the Philippines was spared from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the A/H1N1 "should not make us complacent." "Once again, the world is being threatened by a new kind of virus, the A(H1N1) which has already showed its ugly head this early and manifested that it is as lethal as the SARS," he said. - GMANews.TV
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