First District Rep. Edgar M. Chatto.
Bohol may soon become the home of a new institute for tropical medicine that will cater to the needs of the Visayas region, according to First District Rep. Edgar M. Chatto.
Chatto disclosed his proposal during the February 16, 2024 episode of DYTR’s Newsmakers ug Uban Pa program, hosted by Ardy Araneta Batoy.
He said he envisions that the institute will be hosted at one of the spaces of the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Multi-Specialty Medical Center in Cortes town, which is currently undergoing expansion and modernization.
However, he admitted that he needs to get the support of the local medical community, especially the doctors and researchers, in order to push for the project.
He said the pandemic and the need for anti-venom medications gave rise to the need for another facility similar to the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Manila, which is the only one of its kind in the country.
Chatto was the one who filed the bill seeking to establish a research facility in the Visayas, which he said was approved in principle by the House committee on Health.
However, the measure still needs to pass through the Appropriations Committee and the plenary, before it can be sent to the Senate for concurrence.
He said a tropical medicine research institute will help save lives, as there is no need to wait for anti-venom or other medications to come from Manila, which can take hours or even days.
Also, an institute here will help solve any future pandemic caused by a novel virus, just like what the world experienced a couple of years ago, when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak started.
Rep. Chatto said Bohol is an ideal location for the institute, as it is now seriously considered an international hub, with more foreign tourists coming here.
He said Bohol will also be at the frontline in case there are novel viruses coming from abroad that are carried by tourists, hence the need for a research institute that can quickly respond and contain any potential outbreak.
Chatto urged the public to support his initiative, as he said it will benefit not only Bohol, but the entire Visayas region and the country as a whole.