Starting Sept. 4, the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will be offering cheaper prices for its reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test - both for swab and saliva testing.
“Ibababa natin ang presyo ng ating RT-PCR tests para makatulong sa ating mga mamamayan (We will lower the price of our RT-PCR tests to help our citizens),” said PRC Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Senator Richard Gordon in a statement on Thursday, Sept. 2.
Gordon slashed the amount of swab and saliva RT-PCR tests by at least 25 percent.
The new reduced prices will be P2,800 for a swab test (from P3,800) and P1,500 for a saliva test (from P2,000).
“Sa pagbaba ng presyo ng testing, mas marami tayong maitetest, mas marami tayong matutulungan (The lower the price of testing, the more we can test, the more we can help),” Gordon said.
PRC announced the price reduction two days after its molecular laboratories (mol labs) breached the four million mark of specimens tested since the start of operations of its first-ever molecular laboratory last April 2020.
READ:
https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/31/ph-red-cross-tests-4-million-vaccinates-over-150k-vs-covid-19/
Since then, PRC has established 13 molecular labs nationwide.
Gordon said that the move was in line with PRC’s efforts to make coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing as accessible and affordable to as many people as possible.
“Ang importante dito ay mas marami tayong mai-test, mas malalaman natin kung sino ang may COVID, mas mabilis tayong makaka-kilos upang i-isolate at gamutin ang mga pasyente, at ultimately, mas marami tayong maisasalbang buhay (The important thing here is that the more we get tested, the more we know who has COVID, the faster we can act to isolate and treat patients, and ultimately, the more lives we can save),” Gordon explained.
PRC said that the new swab and saliva testing prices will coincide with the birthday of Gordon's beloved mother, Amelia Juico Gordon.
“The Gordon matriarch was a staunch humanitarian serving as Olongapo City Red Cross' Chairperson for 28-years, of which she was also a founder,” PRC said.