The National Task Force Against COVID-19 stood by its position that there were no anomalies in the procurement of medical equipment and supplies amid the controversies shrouding the Department of Health in the COVID-19 fight.
Chief Implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. also clarified that Secretary Francisco Duque III had no role in the procurement of medical supplies since the NTF initiated it.
“We assure the public that the administration will be clean. Iyon po ang lagi niyo pong sinasabi sa akin even noong ako’y Chief of Staff, na you have no tolerance to corruption, Sir. That’s why that’s my primary duty, to be clean in dealing with procurement. (You have always told me when I was the Chief of Staff that you have no tolerance for corruption. That’s why my primary duty is to be clean in dealing with procurement),” Galvez told President Duterte on Monday.
He ensured that the PPEs bought are of high quality amid the issues on the PPE procurement. “Mula po noong bumili tayo ng PPE ay talagang isa o dalawa na lang po ‘yung nagiging fatal casualty po (Since we bought PPEs, the casualties [among healthcare workers] have gone down to one or two).
Galvez added that the country’s testing capacity has been increasing and around 10 million test kits have been procured. Almost all regions in the country now have COVID-19 laboratories.” – Report from Bea Bernardo
