Photo Release

Overpriced, substandard testing kits: Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan expresses the belief that the Covid-19 test kits supplied by Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) and the Department of Health (DOH) last year were not only overpriced but also substandard. During the continuation of the Blue Ribbon Committee hybrid investigation on the 2020 COA report and other issues related to budget utilization of the Department of Health (DOH), especially its expenditures related to the fight against COVID-19 Tuesday, September 21, 2021, Pangilinan said the PS-DBM together with the DOH, in violation of the technical specification that requires test kits to have an expiry of 24 to 36 months, accepted Pharmally’s test kits that were due to expire in six months. Pangilinan noted that apart from the kits being way below the required expiration period, PS-DBM procured the items at regular price when the agency could get it at 25 percent less since they were nearing their expiration date. “Why wasn’t the DOH or the PS-DBM looking out for our money and making sure that we get a better discount. If it was at 25 percent (discount), we could have had an additional P1.2 billion pesos based on industry practice,” Pangilinan said. (Screen grab/Senate PRIB)