As the country intensifies its efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) said that there should be no place for unscrupulous people who sell fake saliva test kits.
“Dapat sa mga 'yan ay hulihin (They should be arrested),” PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Office (CEO) Senator Richard Gordon said during the Laging Handa public briefing on Monday, March 1.
Gordon then urged the the government - especially the concerned agencies - to strengthen the crackdown against people who peddle and counterfeit saliva test kits. “Ang worry ko ay 'yung saliva test, may mga taong sukdulan ang ginagawa na kahit wala silang permit, nag-o-offer sila na mura lang, mabilis pa (What worries me is that there are unscrupulous people who, even without permits, offer cheap and fast testing kits),” he added.
Currently, Gordon said that fake COVID-19 saliva tests are available in the market. While most of these can be found online, he noted that some counterfeit test kits are also found in several malls in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Gordon also lamented why these individuals are able to get away with their illegal businesses. “Masyado tayong maluwag, biruin mo may nakapasok na vaccines dito, ano'ng ginagawa ng DOH , ng NBI? (We’re too lax, how can these (illegal) vaccines be smuggled here? What is DOH, the NBI doing?),” he asked.
PRC’s saliva Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, Gordon said, is the only saliva test approved by the DOH.
Gordon noted that the government should go after sellers of fake saliva testing kits because they provide a “false sense” of security to the buyers.
Unlike the one offered by PRC, these items, he explained, do “not undergo stringent processes” to determine if they could detect the COVID-19 virus.
The PRC has initially designated its Logistics and Multi-Purpose Center in Mandaluyong and its laboratory at the Port Area in Manila as saliva testing facilities. Then, it partnered with malls for the open drive-thru saliva RT-PCR collection.
PRC formally rolled out its saliva saliva RT-PCR testing in January after it completed and passed all the requirements.
The saliva test costs P2,000 - which is cheaper compared to the RT-PCR swab test priced at P3,800. Gordon said that the PRC explored saliva RT-PCR test as an “alternative because it is non-invasive and less-stringent.”