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Drilon demands transparency from DOH after change in reporting of COVID-19 cases
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA News Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Monday demanded transparency from the Department of Health (DOH) after the latter changed its method of reporting COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.
"We demand full transparency. With the DOH changing the manner of reporting the data after more than two months, we cannot help but suspect that it is hiding something. Honesty is the best policy here," Drilon said in a message.
"Manipulating the data will not bring us anywhere. The experiences all over the world show that a great deal of transparency spells a huge difference in winning the battle against this pandemic," he added.
He cited for example the success of the South Korean government, which he claimed did "not hide the real data" from its people and effectively contained the spread of the virus.
China's case was the polar opposite, according to Drilon.
"It cannot be denied that the China experience has shown that the lack of transparency could be fatal," he said.
Last week, the DOH changed the way it reports the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases
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The highlight of the new method was the breakdown of new cases being reported for the day—the number of newly validated confirmed cases and those which have been delayed.
"Simula po ngayon ay hahatiin po namin ang mga numero upang ipakita kung alin sa mga numero na ito ay fresh or newly validated case sa araw at ilan ang na late or delayed lamang," Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said.
"[B]atid po namin na ang pagiging teknikal ng mga numerong ating ipinalalabas ay isa sa mga dahilan ng hindi pagkakaunawaan na paminsan pa'y maaring magdulot ng takot at pangamba na baka muli na naman tayong bumalik sa ECQ," she added.
On Sunday, the DOH said starting June 1, no more “late” COVID-19 cases will be reported until the remaining certified laboratories that have not yet submitted their complete line lists do so.
It said it has cleared all case validation backlogs of 27 laboratories that submitted complete line lists and one facility that submitted a partial line list.
The Philippines on Sunday recorded 862 more cases of COVID-19—16 "fresh," or newly validated and 846 reported late—bringing the total to 18,086.
Patients who recovered numbered to 3,909 while the death toll was 957.—AOL, GMA News