Pangilinan: Kung kayang bumili ng overpriced face shields, dapat may budget para sa free Covid testing

SENATOR Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Tuesday did not mince his words as he called for free testing anew as cases of Covid-19 continue to spike, saying that if the national government can afford to purchase overpriced face shields, then there is no problem in allocating funds for free testing.

The lawmaker is referring to the government's procurement of expensive face shields from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corporation whose executives recently were handed down with possible charges as a result of the dubious transactions.

"Panahon na na dapat libre ang testing. Dalawang taon na. 2022 na. Sa kabila ng pagdami ng kaso ng Covid-19 sa bansa, nakakadismaya na patuloy pa rin ang pagbibingi-bingihan ng maraming opisyal ng ating pamahalaan. Dalawang taon na tayong nasa sitwasyong ganito ngunit parang hindi pa rin tayo natututo," Pangilinan said.

"Kung mayroon ngang budget para sa overpriced face shields, ang tanong natin ay bakit parating sinasabing walang budget para sa free testing? Wala raw budget pero kung makagasta sa mga bagay na napatunayan nang hindi nakakatulong sa epektibong Covid response ay sobrang wagas pa din," he added.

The country tallied 33,000 new infections on Monday, January 10, and Pangilinan believes this number remains far from reality as some people who manifest symptoms refuse to get tested because of its high price tag.

"Kung tayo nga mismong mga trabahante ng gobyerno ay namamahalan sa swabbing, paano pa kaya ang iba nating kababayan? Kahit naman sino'ng ordinaryong mamamayan ay hindi basta-basta magpapaluwal ng minimum P3,000 para lang sa swab testing. Ang kanilang priority siyempre ay ang pangkain nila sa araw-araw," Pangilinan said.

"Kaya mahalaga na gawing libre ang testing. Kapag libre ang testing, ma-e-engganyo ang mga tao na magpa-test. Kapag sila'y nagpa-test, mas maaagapan natin ang paglaganap ng nakamamatay na virus," he added.

Local and international health experts earlier proposed that the Philippines should perform at least 120,000 tests daily in order to have efficient Covid-19 handling. The country's current test is nowhere near half of the recommended number, which experts attributed to the swift spread of the Omicron variant.