Use Philippine-made Covid-19 test kits, senators urge DOH

  MANILA – Philippine senators on Saturday (July 18) urged the Department of Health (DOH) to use Philippine-made test kits for Covid-19 instead of imported brands. Senators Franklin Drilon, Risa Hontiveros and Kiko Pangilinan issued a joint statement urging the use of “world-class” but cheaper testing kits developed by the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health. "The country is ramping up Covid-19 testing, but locally manufactured, world-class P1,320 PCR test kits are gathering dust in laboratories due to the inaction of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III,” the senators said. Chinese and Korean test kits reportedly cost between P4,000 and P8,000, whereas the Filipino-made test kits only cost less than P2,000. “The savings that could be generated from this kit are crucial in augmenting our Covid-19 response especially at a time when resources are scarce,” according to the statement. The senators also cited a report indicating that the Philippine-made test kits ranked among the world’s best and showed better results than some imported kits. “What seems to be holding Secretary Duque and the DOH back from giving the go-signal for the use and mass production of this Filipino-made, quality yet less expensive test kit? May kumikita ba sa mas mahal na imported test kit? (Is someone earning from the purchase of the more expensive, imported test kit?)” the senators said. Last week, the DOH said that the Philippine-made test kits would be rolled out soon after fixing a defect that caused their recall in May. The locally-made kits are funded by the Department of Science and Technology and certified by the Food and Drug Administration. ICA/Expat Media
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