Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin and former Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III (PPAB/PCOO)

House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin on Monday, June 3, grilled former Department of Health (DOH) secretary Francisco Duque III over the initial “exorbitant” cost of Covid-19 test packages during the early stages of the pandemic.

Garin, herself a former DOH secretary, pointed out that Covid-19 testing in the country was originally priced at a pricey P8,150.

This, despite a certain World Health Organization (WHO) formula, which suggested that the price range of the test packages should only be between P2,000 and P2,500.

“So, nag-take advantage yung iba kasi binigyan na ng presyo na P8,150…kawawa naman yung taong bayan na napag-isip na ganoon pala kamahal,” Garin said during an oversight hearing of the Committee on Appropriations.

(So, the others took advantage because they already gave the price of P8,150...I pity the people who thought it was that expensive.)

Duque noted that in early 2020, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) used this WHO formula in its consideration of the formulation of testing costs.

However, he explained: “In the initial stage of the pandemic, where there was a scant supply of test kits, the testing cost was clearly very high. But as soon as time went by and supplies and prices started to stabilize, then the DOH, with PhilHealth, started to make the corresponding adjustments.”

PhilHealth President Emmanuel Ledesma told the committee that while the Covid-19 test packages initially cost P8,150 back on April 14, 2020, the prices rapidly went down.

Specifically, the test packages went down to P3,409 by June 25, 2020; P2,800 by Nov. 30, 2020; P2,287 by May 26, 2021; and 2,450 by Nov. 30, 2021.

But Garin insisted that the prices went down not because of the eventual increase in the test kits' supply, but rather through the efforts of legislators.

“If I bring back the memory of the Honorable Secretary Duque, nababa po na nababa ang presyo nung paulit-ulit po namin kinakatok ang inyong opisina (the price kept dropping when we repeatedly knocked on your office) during the budget deliberations because P8,150 per Covid test is exorbitant,” she said.

The lady lawmaker argued that it was absurd to cite stock issues for the initial high cost given that the private sector had no such problem in their procurement of testing kits. 

“Kung walang stock bakit kaya ng private sector magpa-test? Kasi ang issue here is the price (If there is no stock, why can the private sector provide tests? Because the issue here is the price). The issue here is PhilHealth paying P8,150 per Covid testing and that became the benchmark kaya lahat ng (that’s why all) private laboratories, including government laboratories, ay tinaga yung mga pasyente (duped their patients),” said Garin.

“Napakamahal ng testing at inaabuso ng PhilHealth, and inaabuso yung taong bayan kasi may pandemya (Testing was very expensive and PhilHealth was abusing it, and the people were abused because there was a pandemic.)

Duque, who served under the Duterte administration, insisted that the scarcity of supplies was behind the high cost.

“But the important thing is, you would see the downward trajectory of the testing costs. As soon as supplies became more available and prices began to stabilize, it's not as if the P8,000 became a steady cost,” he said.

“Madame Chair, let's just accept Secretary Duque's answer that because supplies became available, the cost of testing dropped. But records in Congress will bear it out that there were a lot of push from Congress for DOH to bring down the cost because it was a lot cheaper in the private sector,” Garin said in response.

Meanwhile, former PhilHealth president Ricardo Morales said the initial costly price of testing was because of the seller's market. He defined this as a condition where the pricing power was controlled by the seller, as there was only one Covid-19 laboratory during the beginning of the pandemic.

Garin was quick to point out that this market condition was not realistic since the government and the global community assume control of the market in times of health crises. 

“So, if there's only one laboratory, the more that PhilHealth should have been prudent not to waste money,” she continued.