Palace urges PRC to resume COVID-19 testing as debt nears P1B

Updated Fri, October 23, 2020 at 6:00 PM Published Wed, October 21, 2020 at 12:20 PM

The Palace is urging the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to resume COVID-19 testing services that will be charged to PhilHealth, despite the organization's plea for the government to pay its debt in full.

President Rodrigo Duterte has committed to pay PhilHealth's debt to the PRC, which Senator Richard Gordon stated has ballooned to over P1 billion from the previously stated P930.9 million.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque mentioned that the Department of Justice issued a legal opinion allowing PhilHealth to provide an initial payment while the agreement between the PRC and the state health insurer is being reviewed.

The government plans to settle half of the debt within the next two weeks.

Roque emphasized the importance of the PRC's testing services, noting they account for 25% of the country's total COVID-19 testing capacity.

In the meantime, government and private laboratories have been asked to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and overseas Filipinos (OFs) with their RT-PCR testing.

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COVID-19 Rodrigo Duterte Malacañang Department of Justice Overseas Filipino Workers Harry Roque PhilHealth Richard Gordon Philippine Red Cross

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