Photo Release

Show proof of PPE distribution: Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, during the virtual Blue Ribbon Committee hearing Tuesday, September 21, 2021, on the 2020 Commission on Audit report on the DOH budget utilization, particularly the funds to fight COVID-19, asks Health Sec. Francisco Duque III to show proof that over 11 million sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) procured through the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) were distributed to frontliners nationwide. Recto recalled that last year, in Batangas, there was a shortage in the government supply of PPEs and many PPEs came from donations. He said that they bought PPEs for the use of hospitals in Lipa City and cannot remember having received PPEs from the Department of Health (DOH). “Do you have records to show that what you received (from PS-DBM) were distributed for the benefit of our compatriots? For example, how did you distribute PPEs to frontliners in public and private hospitals nationwide?” Recto asked. Duque committed to provide the committee with the record of distribution of PPEs to the regions, including Region 4-A. (Screen grab/ Senate PRIB)