A congressional leader on Friday said he was opposed to the move by five colleagues to have the House of Representatives investigate the OCTA research group for their pronouncements on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am opposing their resolution seeking the investigation of OCTA. Instead of being investigated, this group should be supported, encouraged and requested to continue with their good work and the big help it is giving to our country in fighting this crippling health crisis,” Deputy speaker and Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said.
He said members of the group should be considered as among the heroes of the war against the pandemic.
Reacting to the proposal by five lawmakers, the OCTA Research Group said it was ready to face a formal inquiry into their credentials.
However, OCTA cautioned a House of Representatives panel might not be the “proper venue” for it.
“Although we welcome the opportunity to discuss our methodology and address concerns on our credibility, I’m not certain if the House is the proper venue because they might not be the expert,” OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said in an interview with Teleradyo.
David said lawmakers might be looking at the projections that the independent research group had been releasing since the start of the pandemic from a “layperson’s point of view.”
David said the inquiry should instead be held in a scientific venue where academics, scientists, and researchers could peer-review their findings.
“They have the knowledge to analyze and assess what you are saying, your models,” Guido said.
Rodriguez said OCTA researchers and fellows, who include mathematicians and health professionals,“are very qualified and their findings are accurate and supported by data.”
He recalled that last May 8, the group warned the national pandemic response task force that COVID-19 cases were increasing in areas outside Metro Manila, including Cagayan de Oro, where it found a 75-percent spike in infections.
The warning prompted him and city officials to call for more vaccines and other forms of assistance to help the city control the surge in cases.
Twelve days later OCTA again reported that CDO was still a high risk area because of the increasing COVID-19 cases.Rodriguez wrote another letter to IATF for more vaccines.
These letters based on OCTA reports resulted in President Rodrigo Duterte ordering the recalibration of the distribution of vaccines and allocating more vaccines to critical areas like Cagayan de Oro.
Two months later, he said the Department of Health reported that five of 11 local Delta variant-infected persons were from Cagayan de Oro and one from Misamis Oriental, the province to which the city belongs.
“OCTA took note of the worsening situation in our city ahead of concerned national officials. Cagayan de Oro thanks OCTA research group,” he added.
Rodriguez pointed out that the investigation his colleagues were seeking would be a waste of time, effort, and precious taxpayers’ money.
“It will just distract OCTA from its work. It will not contribute to our collective effort to fight the rampaging new coronavirus and its highly infectious variants,” he said.
The group, composed of doctors, researchers, and professors from different universities, insisted that its projections were based on data from the Department of Health.
While he was shocked by the proposed investigation, Guido said the group only wanted to use its expertise to help the government navigate the pandemic.
“We just wanted to contribute to the discussion and help the country, like we can use our knowledge to help the country. So, it’s really our expertise, unlike what other people are saying,” he said.
Guido is a professor of mathematics in the University of the Philippines. His main areas of interest are biomechanics, mathematical modeling, game theory, numerical analysis, mathematics of finance, and artificial neural networks.
The lawmakers want to ascertain the credentials and background of the research unit, focusing on their “qualifications, research methodologies, partnerships, and composition.”
OCTA describes itself on its website as a “polling, research, and consultation firm” that provides “comprehensive, holistic, accurate, rigorous, and insightful data analysis to help our clients in government, the private sector and the NGO community.”