The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday, Sept 6, said that the personal protective equipment (PPE) sets procured by the government was a complete set with nine components.

In a press briefing, Heath Undersecretary Charade Grande also said the PPE sets that were bought by the government have met the standards of the World Health Organization (WHO).

"Ang quality po na binili na PPE ng DOH para po sa ating COVID-19 response, ang technical classifications po ay naaayon sa standards ng WHO (The quality of the PPE purchased by DOH for our COVID-19 response, the technical classifications are in accordance with WHO standards)," Grande said.

The complete PPE sets have nine components including coverall suits, gloves, N95 masks, head cover, shoe cover, surgical mask, surgical gown, apron, and face shield.
"Ang PPEs po na i-dineliver po sa atin (The PPEs that were delivered to us), it was inspected, verified, and found to be in order and in conformity with the technical classifications that was set by DOH," she added.

Grande also said the department has not received a single complaint on the quality of the procured PPEs used by health workers in terms of its functionality and performance specifications up until today.

The DOH, through the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), procured the needed PPEs at a price ranging from P1700 to less than P2000.

Grande then clarified that the PPEs procured were not overpriced.

"There was no overpricing. Despite the high level of demand and an equivalent surge in prices for PPEs all over the world, the PPEs procured were at much lower than pre-COVID prices," she said in her presentation.

Grande also noted that the PPEs were purchased cheaper than the DOH's allocated budget of P2,000 per unit as contained in their purchase request to the PS-DBM.