QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 168)
Executive Order No. 168 cites Article II, Section 15 of the Constitution, which provides that the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.
It cites Section 2, Chapter 1, Title IX, Book IV of the Administrative Code of 1987, stating that DOH’s primary function is the promotion, protection, preservation, or restoration of the health of the people through health services and regulation/encouragement of health providers.
The EO creates the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Philippines (Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases, EID). It takes effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation.
The Chairperson is the Department of Health (DOH).
The members include: Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Tourism (DOT), and Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
The Task Force may call upon any department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the government (including GOCCs and GFIs), LGUs, NGOs, and the private sector for assistance as the circumstances and exigencies may require.
The duly authorized representatives must have a rank not lower than Assistant Secretary.
The DOH Secretary may recommend the enlistment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines to supplement the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies for enforcing quarantine, facilitating the transport of EID patients, and other purposes for effective implementation of the EO.
This function aims to ensure government capability to detect, manage, and provide assistance to suspected or confirmed EID cases to prevent harm and support containment efforts.
It should implement rigid screening and identification at ports of entry and institutionalize a surveillance, alert, and quarantine system across all ports of entry.
It requires reinforcement/establishment of systems for screening possible patients, contact tracing, determining mode of exposure, and implementing effective quarantine and proper isolation procedures.
It calls for preventing/minimizing mortality through effective clinical management by capacitating healthcare facilities, government and private medical practitioners, healthcare workers, and public safety enforcers.
It requires education on EID and its prevention/control/management, plus a nationwide EID awareness campaign to promote positive health behaviors and address public fear and anxiety.
It instructs the Task Force to adopt measures to strengthen the DOH Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases Program or its equivalent in other local health units.
The Task Force must notify the WHO of EID cases in the country and its assessment of the EID situation.
It must submit regular status reports to the Office of the President on monitoring of EID.
It is a comprehensive and sustainable manual to guide government response and protocol in managing EID cases. It must include: (1) quarantine and immediate containment within ports of entry; (2) epidemiological investigation and contact tracing; (3) treatment of infected cases and containment of affected areas; (4) a risk communication plan and EID materials for the public; and (5) the respective responsibilities of agencies/instrumentalities.
Member-agencies are authorized to charge implementation costs against their current appropriations. Subsequent funding requirements must be incorporated into their annual budget proposals through the General Appropriations Act, and additional funds/fund sources must be identified and provided for by DBM.
It states that if any provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions unaffected remain valid and subsisting.
It repeals or modifies any prior orders, proclamations, rules, regulations, or parts thereof that are inconsistent with the EO’s provisions.