Malacañang is hopeful that the COVID-19 testing services of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) will resume soon after the organization accepted the government’s offer to give initial payment for PhilHealth’s P930.9-million debt.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque told CNN Philippines that the government would pay half of the debt incurred by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) within this week or next week.
“The Red Cross cannot continue functioning unless it also has its cash requirements. And that’s why we give utmost priority to settling at least 50%. Because it is to the interest of both the Red Cross and the country that we continue our PCR testing since the Red Cross is responsible for 25% of all our testing,” he said.
“I believe that there’s now an understanding between the government and Red Cross that the services will continue,” Roque added.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday assured the Philippine Red Cross that the government would settle its due.
“I think that assurance should be enough for the Red Cross to resume its testing,” Roque said.
On October 15, Red Cross stopped processing COVID-19 tests of those listed in the Department of Health’s expanded testing guidelines (DOH) per its memorandum no. 2020-0258-A, including overseas Filipino workers, individuals through the mega swabbing facilities and local government units, frontline health and government workers, and those arriving in airports and seaports.
Palace hopeful Philippine Red Cross will resume testing
According to Philippine Red Cross, PhilHealth needs to pay its overdue balance of P930,993,000 before they resume their service.
“Unfortunately, PhilHealth failed to meet its obligations. As a result, the PRC’s total billings to PhilHealth stand at P1,014,975,500.00 as of October 13, 2020. Of this amount, P930,993,000.00 represents overdue amounts,” it said.
Around 4,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who returned to the Philippines amid the pandemic are stranded in Metro Manila after the Philippine Red Cross stopped PhilHealth COVID-19 testing.
“We are now faced with another stranding of our OFWs. Right now, we are talking of at least 4,000 plus now stranded in Metro Manila,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.
More than 100,000 OFWs are still expected to arrive in the country before 2020 ends.