Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 23) — PhilHealth has committed to pay on October 26 the debt that forced Philippine Red Cross to stop conducting the coronavirus tests charged to the agency.
“This should enable the PRC to immediately resume its testing of swab specimen of concerned sectors which PhilHealth pays for,” the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth said in a statement on Friday.
PhilHealth owes PRC over ₱1 billion, nearly ₱931 million of which is marked as overdue balance, which the humanitarian organization demands to be settled for the tests to resume.
It is unclear how much PhilHealth will pay. An earlier statement from Malacañang said PhilHealth only “has to provide partial payment to the PRC,” while the memorandum of agreement between the two entities on coronavirus testing is pending review by the Department of Justice.
According to DOJ’s legal opinion, the MOA is not covered by the procurement law, PhilHealth said. The agency cited this as a reason for deciding to settle its debt.
PhilHealth President and CEO Dante Gierran earlier told CNN Philippines that although the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act allowed PhilHealth to proceed under an emergency negotiated bidding with the PRC, there were still possible procurement issues.
PhilHealth then asked DOJ to review the MOA, seeking “proper legal guidance on how to proceed with its payment to the PRC.”
In a media briefing Friday afternoon, Senator Richard Gordon, who heads the PRC, demanded full payment of PhilHealth’s debt, even saying he did not know where the Palace got the notion it can initially pay half of the bill.
READ MORE: Gordon rejects gov’t plan to pay half of PhilHealth debt for COVID-19 testing to resume
Roque earlier said this was the plan. He said half a billion pesos is a “substantial amount” and should be enough for the PRC to get back to testing PhilHealth clients. However, Gordon stressed that the PRC is not a profit-oriented organization and cannot shoulder the costs of testing, which is at ₱3,500 per polymerase chain reaction or PCR test.
and in compliance to COA rules.
This should enable the PRC to immediately resume its testing of swab specimen of concerned sectors which PhilHealth pays for.#MyPhilHealth
— PhilHealth (@teamphilhealth) October 23, 2020
Over 6,000 overseas Filipino workers are stranded in quarantine facilities since the PRC stopped testing PhilHealth clients last week. Gordon said the PRC does not have enough test kits and staff now and is counting on the money that will come from the government.
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, the PRC has facilitated over a million coronavirus tests, one-fourth of the country’s testing capacity.
