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Air Force planes for PPE delivery: Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan says it was surprising to hear the admission of the chief implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. that C-130 planes of the Philippine Air Force and navy ships were dispatched to get the personal protective equipment (PPEs) from a private manufacturer in China and distributed the same to the different hospitals across the country. “So in other words, the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management entered into this contract and agreed that the private company can use Philippine Air Force planes and this was on our expense. We will buy from you and we will pick up,” Pangilinan said during the continuation of a virtual inquiry on the 2020 Commission on Audit (COA) report on the utilization of the Department of Health (DOH) budget, particularly on its expenditures for the Covid-19 program Tuesday, September 7, 2021. Galvez replied in the affirmative, pointing out that it was the agreement and the same was done with the procurement of vaccines. Pangilinan said he wants to look into the alleged poor quality of Chinese-made PPEs. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)