Isko rejects proposed IATF abolition

BY MINKA TIANGCO

Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said Tuesday he is opposed to the proposal of some lawmakers to abolish the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

This after Senators Imee Marcos and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said doctors and public health experts must be tapped to lead the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic after the IATF and the Department of Health’s “gross incompetence.”

In an interview over ANC, Domagoso said abolishing the entire IATF will not help in the country’s fight against COVID-19 and would only lead to more confusion among the Metro Manila mayors and the public.

“Sa ngayon, sa gitna ng pandemya, magtatanggal tayo ng mga taong nagta-trabaho?,” he asked. “For what?”

Although he also acknowledges the shortcomings of government officials in the pandemic response, particularly with the delay of the vaccines and the entry of new COVID-19 variants within the country, the Manila mayor said they must stop playing the “blame game” and should just unite to fight the pandemic.

“Mahilig tayo sa blame game,” he said. “Wala kayo sa kalsada, hindi kayo puyat, hindi kayo napapagod, pagod lang ‘yung mga dila ninyo, mga bibig ninyo. People are doing their jobs.” (Minka Tiangco)