The Provincial Government of Bohol (PGBh) and the Bohol Medical Society (BMS) release a joint statement deploring any attempt to “drive a wedge between the medical sector and our local government”.
The statement was released today, Thursday, May 6, 2021 and signed by Gov. Arthur Yap and BMS president Dr. Jefferson Ong.
The statement reads, “The Bohol Provincial Government and the Bohol Medical Society deplore any attempt to drive a wedge between the medical sector and our local government. It is unfortunate that in this time of recent challenges brought about by the sudden surge of COVID-19 cases in the Province, there are those who are attempting to draw us apart rather than rallying us together against our common enemy – the virus.”
The statement further reads: “Ever since the Bohol Provincial Government created the Bohol Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), a multi-sectoral task group tasked to lead us in this fight against COVID-19, we have always sought the counsel of multi-sectoral groups. One of those groups is the medical sector. To this day, coordination with them is key to battling Covid 19 since what we face Is a medical and health problem of historic proportions.”
“In fact the BIATF’s Task Group Response and Logistics, is led by our Provincial Health Office and partnered with both government and private medical Institutions. This is the lead sub-group in our COVID-19 response structure as evidenced by Dr. Yul Lopez of the PHO giving daily updates and briefers to the general public in the last 14 months,” the statement stated.
The governor and the BMS president wrote in their joint statement, “The Bohol Provincial Government and the Bohol Medical Society have continued to work tirelessly since last year at the start of the pandemic. With this dynamic cooperation, we have managed to maintain a relative low number of COVID-19 cases in the province compared to the other places in our country. These past victories were not without any disagreement. Being a collegial body, disagreements and debates are common within the BIATF. It is only upon these disagreements and debates that our leaders, both in the medical field and in government, can see the complete picture of our current situation.”
“We understand that the economic/business sector is equally represented in the BIATF. Like the medical sector they are equally passionate with their advocacy, which is to keep the economy afloat and ensure that every Boholano family can provide food in the table to survive.
Sometimes, the robust discussions end in the old adage “we agree to disagree”. But these disagreements have sharpened our recommendations and eventually the policies we Issue in the Province. These disagreements on issues should not be misconstrued or translated into discord and chaos. We will not allow anyone to sabotage this relationship among the sectors within the BIATF whose common goal primarily is to keep safe our families from COVID-19 while ensuring that our locaI economy survive,” the statement revealed.
Furthermore, the statement reads, “This crisis is far from over and we are not yet out of the woods. Now is the time that we should be united with the recent spike of COVID-19 cases and the threat of new mutated strands invading our shores. Our Immediate and urgent task is to manage and lower the number of COVID-19 cases and eventually, when the vaccines arrive, ensure massive vaccination rollout in the province led by our medical sector.”
“We hope that we have made clear where we stand on the Issue of those who paint that there is a brewing or actual conflict. There is none. All sectors remain committed, optimistic and united in this cause,” the said statement concluded.