MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday, March 31, defended its purchase of personal protective equipment (PPEs), saying it went through the mandated procurement process at the Department of Budget and Management.

“Ang mga set na prinocure namin ay pinakumpleto. Ibig saibhin meron tayong 8 na PPE types sa loob nitong sets na sinasabi natin… Hindi lang isang klase napaloob sa P1,800, kundi 8 piraso na iba ibang PPEs natin na ginagamit ng ating healthcare workers,” DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario said in a press briefing.  

(The sets we procured are the most complete. This means there are 8 types of PPEs inside each set. Each set does not include one type of PPE, but 8 different types which are being used by our health workers.)

On Monday, March 30, the DOH announced that it has bought one million sets of personal protective equipment (PPEs) worth P1.8 billion for health workers who are at the front lines in the fight against COVID-19.

Vergeire explained that the PPEs the DOH acquired are composed of different types of protective equipment depending on the need of each medical facility.

“Iba iba ang nilalaman ng bawat set. Iba po ang set sa ICU kumpara sa set sa pag triage at sa contact tracing. At iba iba rin ang halaga ng bawat set na binili natin (Each set includes different PPEs. The PPEs included for ICU is different from triage and different from those included in contact tracing),”Vergeire explained.  

The DOH also announced the delivery of PPEs in the following hospitals on Monday, March 30:

• The Philippine Orthopedic Center
• East Avenue Medical Center
• Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital
• Divine Grace Medical Center (Rosario, Cavite)
• Philippine Oncology Center Corporation (Fairview, Quezon City)
• Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (Tondo, Manila)
• Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital & Medical Center (Ilocos Norte)
• Medical Center Paranaque
• Pasig Doctors Medical Center
• Metropolitan Doctors Association
• St. Benedict Dialysis Center
• Philippine General Hospital
• Lung Center of the Philippines 
• St. Camillus Medical Center Pasig

As of Tuesday, the Philippines has 2,084 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 88 deaths and 49 recoveries. – Rappler.com