Malacañang insisted that the government has always thought that testing Filipinos for COVID-19 is important in battling the pandemic despite President Duterte's seemingly belated realization on the matter.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque made the statement after President Duterte said in his public address last week that he just realized that testing is important in containing the spread of the disease.
According to Roque, it does not matter when the President had the epiphany.
"Regardless of when the President actually realized the importance of testing, it has always been our priority," he said.
" explains why isa tayo sa pinakamataas na testing rate ngayon ‘no – hindi lang capacity, kung hindi rate (we have the highest testing rate now -- not just capacity, but rate)," he added.
Based on data from the Department of Health (DOH), as of December 10, the Philippines has a total of 191 laboratories conducting COVID-19 tests, 99 of which are private laboratories.
As of December 11, the country has tested 6,195,558 cumulative samples or an average of 33,900 tests daily for the past week.
A total of 5,834,849 individuals have been tested or 5.40 percent of the population. The Philippines is testing an average of 32,009 individuals daily for the past week.
Last Monday night, President Duterte said he realized that testing is important in containing the spread of the disease but the problem was it is still expensive.
"Alam mo ang importante pala, sa totoo lang (You know, what's really important), and I realize now, it’s the testing," he said.
"Kasi mahal (It's expensive), I’m trying to figure out a cheaper way of doing it and I will discuss it with the Secretary of Health and General Galvez, how to come up with a cheaper swabbing and testing kasi magbayad ka mahal lalo na sa airport (because you will have to pay a lot for it especially in airports)," he added.
Duterte asked Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to look for ways how the government can undertake the testing without the help of private laboratories.
According to the President, limiting the spread of the disease would mean that the government will really have to step up. However, testing every Filipino will not be an easy task.
Last month, President Duterte issued an executive order directing the departments of Health (DOH) and Trade and Industry (DTI) to place a price cap on COVID-19 tests.
Under the joint order of the two agencies, private laboratories can only charge patients up to P5,000 while the price cap for public laboratories is P3,800.