Mayor Teodoro urges DOH to allow its COVID-19 testing lab to operate
Published Mar 23, 2020 12:00 am
By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
The Department of Health (DOH) should allow Marikina City to operate its laboratory testing center for COVID-19, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said, adding that the DOH should treat Marikina as a partner in the fight against the disease.
Mayor Marcy Teodoro on Monday shows to media the molecular laboratory of Marikina City which will be shared with Rizal and to other nearby cities, after a meeting with DOH, RITM, and the City Health Office. With him were former Antipolo, Rizal mayor Junjun Ynares and ARMMC Director Dr. Imelda Mateo. (MARIKINA LGU PHOTOS/MANILA BULLETIN)
“The DOH should not treat Marikina City as a client applying for a license to operate a laboratory such as this. Kundi (Instead), we should be a partnership. This is a whole-of-government approach na kung saan nagtutulong-tulong ang national at ang local na pamahalaan (where the national and local government work together),” Teodoro told reporters.
According to the mayor, the DOH should allow the operation of the city’s testing center and also allow the use of locally-developed testing kits for mass testing, especially now that the country is facing a public health emergency.
Teodoro recently announced that they have set up an early detection laboratory testing center for COVID-29 in Marikina with the help of the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH).
However, the DOH on Sunday said the testing center is not yet certified and still has to undergo an assessment for it to be operational.
The city mayor also said the testing kits developed by the UP-NIH will be used in the testing center, once it is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“We should make these test kits commercially available for all. We should be able to ensure that testing is democratized, open access sa lahat ng Pilipino, lalo dun sa mga mahihirap na hindi kaya magpatingin sa mga pribadong ospital (to all Filipinos, especialy the poor who cannot afford consultations in private hospitals),” he said.
“Marami tayong mga kababayan na nasa poverty line, nabubuhay sa kahirapan, at ito 'yung gusto natin mapagsilbihan at matugunan ang kanilang pangangailangan."
(Many of our compatriots are living on the poverty line, living in poverty, and these are the ones we want to ser and provide their needs.)
Teodoro met with key officials of the DOH, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), WHO, and Marikina City Health Office on Monday.
Amang Rodriguez Medical Center (ARMMC) Director Dr. Imelda Mateo told reporters that the DOH has already begun the assessment to determine if the testing center qualifies according to the protocols and standards set by the health officials.
“We will make sure that when the testing center becomes operational, it is safe and its processes are efficient,” she said.
Teodoro said three to four more cities will benefit from the COVID-19 testing center of Marikina, such as Pasig City and the neighboring Province of Rizal.
“Alam natin na may clamor ang mga tao ngayon na mas maraming test kit na maging available, mas maraming testing center na mapupuntahan ang mga tao," he said. (We know people are clamoring for more test kits to be available, for more testing centers they can go to.)
“Malinaw naman na susunod sa lahat ng protocol, susunod sa lahat ng standard na itinakda para sa isang clinical laboratory."
(It is clear that we will comply with the protocols, and all standards required for a clinical laboratory.)
Earlier, the Marikina City government partnered with Manila Health Tek, Inc., the first biotechnology private company for health in the country, which is a spinoff of the University of the Philippines-Manila.
The company is from whom the city government will procure 3,000 COVID-19 testing kits to use in their testing center.
According to the mayor, doctors of the Marikina City Health Office (CHO) will be trained by the scientists and doctors of Manila Health Tek to operate the laboratory.
Mayor Marcy Teodoro on Monday shows to media the molecular laboratory of Marikina City which will be shared with Rizal and to other nearby cities, after a meeting with DOH, RITM, and the City Health Office. With him were former Antipolo, Rizal mayor Junjun Ynares and ARMMC Director Dr. Imelda Mateo. (MARIKINA LGU PHOTOS/MANILA BULLETIN)
“The DOH should not treat Marikina City as a client applying for a license to operate a laboratory such as this. Kundi (Instead), we should be a partnership. This is a whole-of-government approach na kung saan nagtutulong-tulong ang national at ang local na pamahalaan (where the national and local government work together),” Teodoro told reporters.
According to the mayor, the DOH should allow the operation of the city’s testing center and also allow the use of locally-developed testing kits for mass testing, especially now that the country is facing a public health emergency.
Teodoro recently announced that they have set up an early detection laboratory testing center for COVID-29 in Marikina with the help of the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH).
However, the DOH on Sunday said the testing center is not yet certified and still has to undergo an assessment for it to be operational.
The city mayor also said the testing kits developed by the UP-NIH will be used in the testing center, once it is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“We should make these test kits commercially available for all. We should be able to ensure that testing is democratized, open access sa lahat ng Pilipino, lalo dun sa mga mahihirap na hindi kaya magpatingin sa mga pribadong ospital (to all Filipinos, especialy the poor who cannot afford consultations in private hospitals),” he said.
“Marami tayong mga kababayan na nasa poverty line, nabubuhay sa kahirapan, at ito 'yung gusto natin mapagsilbihan at matugunan ang kanilang pangangailangan."
(Many of our compatriots are living on the poverty line, living in poverty, and these are the ones we want to ser and provide their needs.)
Teodoro met with key officials of the DOH, Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), WHO, and Marikina City Health Office on Monday.
Amang Rodriguez Medical Center (ARMMC) Director Dr. Imelda Mateo told reporters that the DOH has already begun the assessment to determine if the testing center qualifies according to the protocols and standards set by the health officials.
“We will make sure that when the testing center becomes operational, it is safe and its processes are efficient,” she said.
Teodoro said three to four more cities will benefit from the COVID-19 testing center of Marikina, such as Pasig City and the neighboring Province of Rizal.
“Alam natin na may clamor ang mga tao ngayon na mas maraming test kit na maging available, mas maraming testing center na mapupuntahan ang mga tao," he said. (We know people are clamoring for more test kits to be available, for more testing centers they can go to.)
“Malinaw naman na susunod sa lahat ng protocol, susunod sa lahat ng standard na itinakda para sa isang clinical laboratory."
(It is clear that we will comply with the protocols, and all standards required for a clinical laboratory.)
Earlier, the Marikina City government partnered with Manila Health Tek, Inc., the first biotechnology private company for health in the country, which is a spinoff of the University of the Philippines-Manila.
The company is from whom the city government will procure 3,000 COVID-19 testing kits to use in their testing center.
According to the mayor, doctors of the Marikina City Health Office (CHO) will be trained by the scientists and doctors of Manila Health Tek to operate the laboratory.