(Eagle News) — The Palace on Monday, July 13, named the four “czars” who will directly oversee several aspects of the Philippines’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an online briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar will be the “chief isolation czar.”
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong was named the “contact tracing czar,” or the person in charge of the country’s contact tracing efforts.
The Baguio government has been commended for its contact tracing efforts that have so far kept COVID-19 cases there low.
Bases and Conversions Development Authority chief Vince Dizon was introduced as the “chief testing czar,” while Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega was introduced as the “chief treatment czar.”
Dizon is also deputy implementer of the government’s COVID-19 national action plan.
Vega was recently appointed as Health undersecretary by President Rodrigo Duterte, and was head of the Southern Philippines Medical Center before the appointment.
The Department of Health has so far confirmed over 57,000 COVID-19 cases, with a record-high of more than 2000 recoveries recorded in one day.
