Gov’t now directly buying COVID-19 supplies from manufacturers

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Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and World Health Organization Rabindra Abeyasinghe confirm the first case of Novel Coronavirus in the country during press briefing in Manila on January 30, 2020. The first case is a 38 year-old woman from Wuhan, China who travel via Hongkong to Manila. Photo by Inoue Jaena/Rappler

The national government is now procuring COVID-19 supplies straight from the manufacturer, the Palace announced on Thursday.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said he talked to the head of Department of Budget and Management’s Procurement Service (PS DBM), who confirmed the pronouncements of former Health Secretary and now Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin.

“Kinausap ko po si Usec (Lloyd Christopher) Lao ng PS DBM dahil sila nga po ang bumibili. Ang sabi niya totoo naman na noong una mataas ang bili ng DOH, pero ngayon napababa na dahil dumidiretso sila sa manufacturer. So meron pong katotohanan sa sinabi ni Sec. Garin. Sinabi ng PS DBM na ginagawa na nila iyan, dahilan kaya napababa ang binibili ng PS DBM,” he said in his regular media briefing.

[I have talked to USec. Lloyd Christopher Lao of the PS DBM because they are the one who procures. According to him, it is true that the costs was higher before, but now it’s been lowered as they procure directly from the manufacturer. So, there is some truth in Sec. Garin’s statements. PS DBM said that they are currently doing that.]

Garin on Tuesday expressed her sentiment that the government will be able to cut the cost of testing if it buys test kits and machines directly from manufacturers, suggesting they shouldn’t go through a middleman. She said the cost of polymerase chain reaction or PCR testing in the country can go down to less than P1,000 if the DOH purchases the test kits straight from the manufacturer.

Roque said he is clueless on the identity of the local supplier allegedly jacking up prices of COVID-19 tests. Garin said the supplier, headed by a couple, is padding them three times the cost of what manufacturers sell them for.

“Pandemic ngayon, at siguro napapanahong DOH mismo ang bumili ng kits na kailangan ng ating mga kababayan o kaya DBM o anong ahensya ng gobyerno, pero hindi po sa mga middleman kundi diretso sa mga manufacturer,” Garin said in her privilege speech. 

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III was questioned during a Senate hearing on Tuesday on the allegedly overpriced COVID-19 test package of state health insurer PhilHealth and testing machines bought by the DOH.

Duque promised senators that he will do a review and submit a report to Congress on the issue.

House committees to hold hearings during break

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Spread the loveMANILA – The House of Representatives has authorized for its committees to conduct hearings during the five-week congressional break, extending until late April.

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