Concepcion extends Go Negosyo Project ARK rollout

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has confirmed that more local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila and nearby provinces will join the Project ARK (Antibody Rapid test Kits) initiative.

To date, Project ARK is working with LGUs of Antipolo, Batangas, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig and Makati to bring mass testing down to the community level. These will be conducted through the help of donors such as the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII), Wilcon Depot, RFM Corp., Angkas and Aboitiz Group.

Launched last April 24, Project Ark’s massive rapid testing initiative in Sampaloc, Manila successfully conducted 854 tests out of the target 1,500 sampling size and consequently identified 31 persons as presumed positive for COVID-19.

Another mass screening was conducted in District 1, Tondo, last May 3. A total of 1,409 successful tests were done that utilized antibody rapid test kits donated by Angkas. Of the tests conducted, 109 were presumed positive.

Adding to this was the successful XNUMBERX tests conducted in Antipolo City last May 8 that utilized antibody rapid test kits donated by FFCCCII led by its president and Go Negosyo big brother, Henry Lim Bon Liong.

Concepcion emphasized that in order for the economy to safely reopen and restart, mass testing must be done. “We are in an invisible war, we cannot see our enemy. That is why the key is visibility. We have to test, test, test! Massive testing is the key to reopening our economy, through this we could also reinstate public confidence.”

Project ARK – an initiative led by Concepcion that bands together the biggest economic players and business conglomerates in the country – aims to ramp up mass testing in order to safely reopen the economy. With the data collected from the massive testing, the government and different industries can gain better visibility of the enemy and formulate better strategies to combat the virus.

To date, the project has generated 1,014,562 rapid test kits from 172 companies; 876,082 will be used by partner companies while 138,480 will be donated to barangays.