FACT CHECK: House Bill 6522 doesn’t remove the right of Filipinos to decide on their health

Claim: House Bill 6522 will remove the national sovereignty of Filipinos and their right to choose what’s best for their own health. 

The caption of the video containing the claim says, “Pagkatapos maipasa sa Kongreso ang BH 6522 na mag aalis ng ating national sovereignty at karapatan mag desisyon sa ating kalusugan, nkaaabang na ang House Bill 2115 para magkaroon ng vaccine passtport at Senate Bill 1026.”

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook video containing the claim has over 1,500 reactions, 4,700 comments, and 10,000 views as of writing. 

Purpose of the bill: HB 6522 is a bill that aims to create a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Philippines. 

There are no sections and provisions in the said bill that gives the agency power to remove any right nor freedom of Filipinos when it comes to their health.  

What is the function of PH CDC? Article III, Section 6 of the bill lists the following as the functions of the proposed agency:

• Develop strategies, standards, and policies for disease prevention and control;
• Implement disease surveillance and field epidemiology activities;
• Perform data collection and analytics;
• Establish and strengthen public health laboratories;
• Set standards and policies for private laboratories;
• Recommend actions for public health threats to appropriate national government bodies;
• Lead public health and risk communications;
• Conduct and manage health research and evidence synthesis;
• Build local capacity for surveillance and health research;
• Promote scientific integrity by ensuring that all its products are technically accurate, scientifically and ethically sound, and useful to the government and the intended population through the institutionalization of appropriate mechanisms and bodies.

The House of Representatives approved HB 6522 on December 12, 2022, and is currently in the Senate. The bill went through first reading in the Senate happened on January 23, 2023, and was referred to the Senate Committee on Health and Demography.  – Lorenz Pasion/Rappler.com

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