Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19, readily responded Thursday night, Sept. 2, when he was bombarded by President Duterte with questions on the government's procurement of personal protective equipment (PPEs) in the early months of the coronavirus disease pandemic.
In a pre-recorded Cabinet meeting, Duterte threw an array of questions to Galvez as the Chief Executive attempts to shed light on the government's spending.
A former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff who has extensive knowledge on logistical operations, Galvez was the "go-to" person by Duterte in the procurement of medical supplies when the pandemic began last year.
Duterte asked Galvez to explain the procurement of P1,700 worth per unit of PPE that the government bought from China, which is now being questioned by senators since it was way over the P950 price ceiling of the Department of Health (DOH).
"Sa panahon po talaga na 'yon talagang nagkukumahog po tayo, Mr. President, dahil kasi po talagang ang binigay niyo pong instruction sa akin, talagang nakikita po natin sa news na maraming mga magagaling na doktor sa Heart Center at saka sa ibang mga talagang magagaling po na mga level 3 hospitals ang namamatay na (During that time, we were in a hurry, Mr. President, because you instructed me to since we were seeing in the news that a lot of good doctors at the Heart Center and other level 3 hospitals were already dying)," Galvez said.
Accordingly, the NTF Against COVID-19 instructed the Department of Budget and Management's Procurement Service (PS-DBM), then headed by ex-Undersecretary Christopher Lao, and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to immediately procure and manufacture three million sets of PPEs for distribution in the hospitals.
Galvez explained that the cost of the PPEs was fluctuating because the deal included the cost of transportation from China.
He said that some of the PPEs were personally fetched by the government through commercial airlines and military assets while others had to be delivered to the country by the supplier themselves using rented vessels.
"Doon po, medyo tumaas po ‘yong presyo because ‘yong barko na kanilang aarkilahin ay babayaran po ng mga supplier (The price slightly increased because the ships that they rented will have to be paid for by the suppliers)," he said.
Duterte then asked Galvez if the purchased items were delivered on time, to which the NTF chief implementer answered in affirmative: "Yes, sir. Actually, sir, napakaano, sir, napakabilis (Yes sir. Actually, sir, it was really fast)."
Galvez said the PPEs were immediately distributed to hospitals in Manila, Cebu, and Davao to the "delight of medical frontliners."
He also vouched for the quality of the procured protective gears, which he said were made of lighter materials for the comfort of medical healthcare workers unlike the hazmat suits which were heavier.
As for his final question, Duterte asked Galvez if there were no public funds or payments that were released until it was ascertained that the medical supplies were completely delivered and these were compliant with the technical requirements required by the DOH and other agencies that requested the purchase.
"Yes, sir. Maka-attest po ako diyan, sir, dahil kasi kasama po diyan ang AFP, kasama rin po ‘yong ibang mga logistics officer na nagi-inspect po, sir (I can attest to that, sir, because the AFP and other logistics officers were included in the inspection)," said Galvez.