Tuguegarao City, Cagayan – Former Senator and Presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr said on Monday, Nov 1, that more funds must be allocated for the country’s medical research to cope with health crises such as the current pandemic.
The former Senator emphasized that the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) must be developed further and that the country must be able to produce its own vaccine against COVID-19.
The son of the late strongman also pointed out as an example that there had been many missed opportunities due to the lack of funds of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).
Marcos said in a statement, “Yung Research Institute for Tropical Medicine ay bagay na bagay ngayon ‘yan dito sa pag-aaral sa Covid. Pero kaya nga lang nung lumipas ang panahon, hindi binibigyang importansya itong mga institute na ito. ”
Marcos added that beefing up budget allocations for medical research and its local facilities will aid PH to combat problems such as COVID-19 and others in the long run. TNF