MANILA – The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will not resume the conduct of its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) tests unless the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) settles its P931-million debt, according to Sen. Richard Gordon.
Gordon, who chairs the PRC, said he does not know where Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque got the notion that the PRC will resume COVID-19 testing with PhilHealth paying just half of its debts.
“No, they should pay the whole amount because mahirap, nakabitin kami,” Gordon said in a media briefing. “Sila (Malacañang) lang nagsasabi. They talk to themselves all the time.”
“Tingnan mo ha, babayad ka ng kalahati. Anong mangayayari ngayon? Papalakihin na naman? Edi ninenerbyos kaming lahat. ‘Wag naman,” the senator added.
Roque recently said the government plans to pay back at least half of the amount by next week, and President Rodrigo Duterte’s assurance should be enough for the PRC to continue the tests.
Last week, the PRC stopped accepting specimens from returning Filipinos, mega swabbing facilities and local government units, among others, due to mounting unpaid debt.
PRC was responsible for about one million COVID-19 tests, or nearly a fourth of the country’s total 3.8 million tests. The organization said it would no longer accept specimens for PhilHealth funded-tests.
“I recognized the PRC’s decision to halt testing of OFWs,” Gordon said. “If the government could afford to send them to hotels for their quarantine, it should be able to pay for their tests.”/PN
