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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 23) – The Philippine Red Cross demands full payment of PhilHealth’s debt before resuming coronavirus testing uploaded to the agency, rejecting the government’s plan to initially pay half the amount.
“No, they should pay the full amount because mahirap, nakabitin kami eh (that will leave us hanging),” Senator Richard Gordon, president of the People’s Republic of China, said at a news conference on Friday.
Malacañang previously said that the government will pay 50% of PhilHealth’s debt next week. Collectibles have skyrocketed to more than a billion dollars. The People’s Republic of China stopped conducting Philhealth-funded swab testing last week, saying it can resume testing only after the agency’s overdue balance of nearly $ 931 million is settled.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque previously said that 500 million pesos is a “substantial amount” and should be enough for the People’s Republic of China to retest PhilHealth clients. But Gordon said he doesn’t know where the Palace got the idea that it can pay half the bill first.
“I don’t know where 50% came from, I don’t know 50% (I don’t know where the 50% came from, I don’t know that 50%), ”Gordon said.
“They just say (They are the only ones who say that). They talk to themselves all the time, ”he added.
Hours after the PRC briefing, the Palace issued a statement announcing that the Justice Department had advised PhilHealth to make a partial payment first while the trial agreement between the conflicting entities was reviewed. He cited a DOJ legal opinion, which the department has not disclosed.
“Having said this, we ask the People’s Republic of China to resume its testing services,” Roque said, reiterating the government’s commitment to “pay its obligation.” No amount was mentioned.
Not enough test kits, staff
Gordon stressed that the People’s Republic of China is not a for-profit organization and cannot bear the costs of the tests, which are $ 3,500 per polymerase chain reaction or PCR test.
He said that the People’s Republic of China does not have enough test equipment and personnel now and is counting on money to come from the government. He has asked half of the medical technologists in the People’s Republic of China not to report for work for now, as the organization cannot afford to pay his monthly salary of around ₱ 35,000.
“Look, you will pay half … What will happen now? Will it grow back? Edi makes us all nervous. ‘Never mindGordon said.
[Translation: Look, you’ll pay half. What happens next? It will pile up again and we’ll be nervous? Let’s not do that.]Gordon acknowledged that PRC’s decision to stop testing resulted in more than 6,000 overseas Filipino workers stranded, but maintained that if the government could afford to send them to hotels for quarantine, it should be able to pay for their tests.
PhilHealth awaiting DOJ review
PhilHealth previously said that it previously paid the People’s Republic of China $ 1.6 billion for more than 433,000 tests, but Gordon lamented that this was delayed as well.
PhilHealth has said it has funds available to pay off its remaining debt, but has asked the Justice Department to review its memorandum of understanding with the People’s Republic of China. He said he will wait for the DOJ’s legal opinion “to get proper legal guidance on how to proceed with his payment to the People’s Republic of China.”
Newly appointed PhilHealth President and CEO Dante Gierran previously said that the MOA signed by his predecessor Ricardo Morales and Gordon for a ₱ 100 million revolving fund for COVID-19 testing violated procurement laws. He added that PhilHealth should be charged a lower amount, as the cost of each polymerase chain reaction or PCR test has dropped to $ 3,409 each, from $ 3,500 set in the MOA, due to increased supply. in the market.
Gordon said the PRC can cut the cost of testing by as much as $ 3,000 if its China supplier gives a discount. Since the outbreak began, the People’s Republic of China has provided more than one million coronavirus tests, a quarter of the country’s testing capacity.
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