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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider NTF Against COVID-19 believes Philhealth-Red Cross contract is in order --Dizon

NTF Against COVID-19 believes Philhealth-Red Cross contract is in order --Dizon

Published Sep 23, 2020 06:51 pm

Deputy Chief Implementer and Testing Czar Secretary Vince Dizon said that the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 believes that the transaction between the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) is legal.

Testing czar Vince Dizon (PCOO / MANILA BULLETIN)

"Ang masasabi lang po namin, ang kontrata po ng Philhealth at ng Red Cross ay legal sa aming opinyon at walang kahit anong anomalya. (What we can only say is that the contract between Philhealth and the Red Cross is legal in our opinion and has no irregularity)," Dizon said during the NTF press briefing on Wednesday. 

"Nagkaroon po ng kontrata ang Red Cross at ang Department of Health (DOH) at PhilHealth at naniniwala po kami at sinuportahan po namin iyan sa NTF dahil kailangang kailangan natin ng testing capacity lalo na nung panahon na iyon. (Red Cross signed a contract with DOH and Philhealth and we supported this in the NTF because we needed the testing capacity during the height of the pandemic)," he added.

Dizon recalled that at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in May, when the country had difficulty testing thousands of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) arriving from different parts of the world and allowing them to go back to their provinces, PRC was the only lab which helped since it was the only one with the capacity to test.

He added that the NTF believes that not only the PRC but also the DOH and PhilHealth will be capable of explaining their side.

Senator Leila de Lima recently sought for the investigation on the deal between PRC and PhilHealth due to prima facie allegations that warrant a separate full-blown investigation.

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