Manila Bulletin
Philippines
Palace: Local garments, textile exporters to produce 10,000 PPE sets per day after Holy Week
Philippines
Palace: Local garments, textile exporters to produce 10,000 PPE sets per day after Holy Week
Palace: Local garments, textile exporters to produce 10,000 PPE sets per day after Holy Week
Published Apr 6, 2020 12:00 am
By Genalyn Kabiling
Local garments and textile exporters have banded together to produce 10,000 protective personal equipment (PPE) sets per day after the Holy Week, a Palace official announced Monday.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (Photo from Karlo Nograles / Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the mass production of medical-grade PPE initiated by the member-companies of the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP) will boost the country's supply and benefit the health workers battling the new coronavirus disease.
"Last week po, inannounce ng DOH (Department of Health) na may 1,000,000 na PPE na available na para sa ating mga frontliners (Last week the DOH announced there will be one million PPE available for our frontliners). Pero aside po (But aside) from these newly-procured PPE, the DTI has announced that member-companies of the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines will now start the local production of medical-grade PPE coveralls for healthcare workers," he said during a virtual press conference Monday.
"Raw materials for these will be shipped in by this week and the roll out of production at the garment factories will immediately start after the Holy Week. Once operational, these factories will be able to produce 10,000 PPE a day," he added.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the country was not a local producer of medical-grade PPE, according to Nograles. The local production of PPE, however, has been made possible through the efforts of the Department of Trade of Industry (DTI) led by Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Nograles said the DTI, through the Bureau of Investments (BOI), coordinated with private and health sector to develop a medical-grade prototype PPE. Such protective gear could be used even in high COVID-risk hospital situations such as operating rooms, COVID-19 positive wards, and intensive care units.
"Under this partnership, member-companies of CONWEP executed the design prototype of the PPE coveralls," Nograles said.
"After several tests by DOH and PGH (Philippine General Hospital), CONWEP refitted the design prototypes until these were approved by the DOH and PGH," he added.
Tax-free importation of PPE, medical supplies
To further augment the country's supply, the government has exempted the importation of PPE and other medical medical emergency supplies from tax and duties.
Nograles said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued guidelines on the tax and duty-free importation of PPE and supplies in compliance with Republic Act 11469, the “Bayanihan To Heal As One Act.” He said Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 07-2020 seeks to expedite customs clearance of these imposed medical goods urgently needed by frontliners, medical supplies manufacturers, and the public.
"Under this CAO, importers of PPE and medical equipment and supplies for commercial purposes are now exempted from presenting the Certificate of Product Notification (CPN) or Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) prior to release from the Bureau, provided that they present a copy of their License to Operate (LTO) and proof of application for product notification with the FDA," he said.
"Moreover, those importing ventilators, respirators and their respective accessories for commercial purposes only need to present a copy of their LTO," he added.
Imported health products for donation that are certified by regulatory agencies or accredited third party organizations in the originating countries shall be automatically cleared, according Nograles.
He said an FDA clearance will not be required prior to the release of foreign donations of PPE, ventilators, respirators, and their respective accessories.
"Imported goods under Section 4(O) of RA 11469 which are released under Provisional Goods Declaration are subject to the submission of Tax Exemption Indorsement (TEI) issued by the Department of Finance-Revenue Office (DOF-RO) after 12 April 2020 or upon the lifting of the declaration of ECQ, whichever comes earlier," he said.
Nograles also said the Authority to Release Imported Goods (ATRIG) will no longer be required for the importations of PPE and medical emergency supplies based on the memorandum issued by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
For concerns about the importation of the medical supplies, Nograles said the public may contact the BOC through mobile numbers 0917 832 2925, 0967 225 6871, 0917 746 1168, o 0917 254 2258.
The Anti-Red Tape Authority, BOC, and the FDA recently signed a joint memorandum circular on the creation of a Bayanihan One Stop Stop (BOSS) for securing license to operate to import COVID-19 critical commodities for commercial distribution.
The BOSS will operate a single window to accept online applications for importation of covered items, interconnect BOD, FDA, and ARTA websites for end-to-end processing and monitoring of application, among others.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t4suo?fbclid=IwAR2UsyvRfyxK9_1j4yltdMOisTUYnhievFc0DkS2fpeDUAJ2cmNRlNknZWw
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (Photo from Karlo Nograles / Facebook page / MANILA BULLETIN)
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the mass production of medical-grade PPE initiated by the member-companies of the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP) will boost the country's supply and benefit the health workers battling the new coronavirus disease.
"Last week po, inannounce ng DOH (Department of Health) na may 1,000,000 na PPE na available na para sa ating mga frontliners (Last week the DOH announced there will be one million PPE available for our frontliners). Pero aside po (But aside) from these newly-procured PPE, the DTI has announced that member-companies of the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines will now start the local production of medical-grade PPE coveralls for healthcare workers," he said during a virtual press conference Monday.
"Raw materials for these will be shipped in by this week and the roll out of production at the garment factories will immediately start after the Holy Week. Once operational, these factories will be able to produce 10,000 PPE a day," he added.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the country was not a local producer of medical-grade PPE, according to Nograles. The local production of PPE, however, has been made possible through the efforts of the Department of Trade of Industry (DTI) led by Secretary Ramon Lopez.
Nograles said the DTI, through the Bureau of Investments (BOI), coordinated with private and health sector to develop a medical-grade prototype PPE. Such protective gear could be used even in high COVID-risk hospital situations such as operating rooms, COVID-19 positive wards, and intensive care units.
"Under this partnership, member-companies of CONWEP executed the design prototype of the PPE coveralls," Nograles said.
"After several tests by DOH and PGH (Philippine General Hospital), CONWEP refitted the design prototypes until these were approved by the DOH and PGH," he added.
Tax-free importation of PPE, medical supplies
To further augment the country's supply, the government has exempted the importation of PPE and other medical medical emergency supplies from tax and duties.
Nograles said the Bureau of Customs (BOC) has issued guidelines on the tax and duty-free importation of PPE and supplies in compliance with Republic Act 11469, the “Bayanihan To Heal As One Act.” He said Customs Administrative Order (CAO) 07-2020 seeks to expedite customs clearance of these imposed medical goods urgently needed by frontliners, medical supplies manufacturers, and the public.
"Under this CAO, importers of PPE and medical equipment and supplies for commercial purposes are now exempted from presenting the Certificate of Product Notification (CPN) or Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) issued by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) prior to release from the Bureau, provided that they present a copy of their License to Operate (LTO) and proof of application for product notification with the FDA," he said.
"Moreover, those importing ventilators, respirators and their respective accessories for commercial purposes only need to present a copy of their LTO," he added.
Imported health products for donation that are certified by regulatory agencies or accredited third party organizations in the originating countries shall be automatically cleared, according Nograles.
He said an FDA clearance will not be required prior to the release of foreign donations of PPE, ventilators, respirators, and their respective accessories.
"Imported goods under Section 4(O) of RA 11469 which are released under Provisional Goods Declaration are subject to the submission of Tax Exemption Indorsement (TEI) issued by the Department of Finance-Revenue Office (DOF-RO) after 12 April 2020 or upon the lifting of the declaration of ECQ, whichever comes earlier," he said.
Nograles also said the Authority to Release Imported Goods (ATRIG) will no longer be required for the importations of PPE and medical emergency supplies based on the memorandum issued by Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
For concerns about the importation of the medical supplies, Nograles said the public may contact the BOC through mobile numbers 0917 832 2925, 0967 225 6871, 0917 746 1168, o 0917 254 2258.
The Anti-Red Tape Authority, BOC, and the FDA recently signed a joint memorandum circular on the creation of a Bayanihan One Stop Stop (BOSS) for securing license to operate to import COVID-19 critical commodities for commercial distribution.
The BOSS will operate a single window to accept online applications for importation of covered items, interconnect BOD, FDA, and ARTA websites for end-to-end processing and monitoring of application, among others.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7t4suo?fbclid=IwAR2UsyvRfyxK9_1j4yltdMOisTUYnhievFc0DkS2fpeDUAJ2cmNRlNknZWw