The Department of Health (DOH), by virtue of Department Order 2020-1011, has clarified that Dr. Celia Carlos, director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), will remain in her position.
It states the appointment of Assistant Secretary Nestor Santiago as the OIC-Director IV of the RITM and that it has always been under his jurisdiction.
The move has earlier resulted in the public speculating that Dr. Carlos has been replaced because of the issue regarding the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing given to high-level officials.
The department has explained that some officials are still qualified under the old decision tool which includes being exposed to the virus and their travel history despite being asymptomatic. There are other officials requesting to be tested, but the DOH assures that they are still on pending status.
The DOH also guarantees that persons under investigation (PUIs) are not being neglected especially now that the number of testing kits has increased.
100, 000 test kits have arrived from the Chinese Embassy. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also approved and released eight brands of testing kits that can be used by hospitals with laboratory capacity.
Report from Mark Fetalco
