Not just $64 questions

As promised, we continue with the “next chapter” of issues hounding the government’s expenditures last year related to measures in controlling the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in our country. National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 pandemic chief implementer and designated “vaccine czar” Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. took up the cudgels for the government agencies accused of “overpricing” the purchases of personal protective equipment (PPEs). It allegedly took place a few months after President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire Philippines under a state of public health emergency due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Now the subjects of congressional probes are the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) on the alleged “overpricing” of PPEs. Both the DOH and the DBM are part of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) that President Duterte reactivated to address the COVID-19 pandemic. As NTF chief implementer, Galvez told us during our Kapihan sa Manila Bay virtual news forum last Wednesday it was the NTF as a whole that handled the procurement of the PPEs.

Actually, Galvez first explained these to President Duterte at the weekly Monday meeting of the IATF aired over government-run PTV-4. But when he spoke to us two days later in our Kapihan sa Manila Bay Zoom Webinar, Galvez turned a bit emotional on accusations raised in particular by Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon of alleged “pre-planned plunder” done in the government’s anti-COVID expenditures. Galvez decried these allegations cropped up following the release of the 2020 annual review done by the Commission on Audit (COA) on the “deficiencies” noted against DOH.

As far as the NTF is concerned, Galvez asserted they did their best to procure the PPEs urgently needed “to save the lives” of the country’s health care workers (HCWs), many of whom died already and many more getting infected by COVID-19. Especially during those times last year, Galvez recalled, there was extreme demand but few supplies available for PPEs although funds were already provided for under the Bayanihan-1 Heal As One Act.

“We have no face masks, we have no test kits, there are no PPEs, but those dying are continuously increasing. We need to bring in the supplies as quickly as possible and in larger volumes,” Galvez pointed out. With his voice cracking already, Galvez rued: “So it’s very unfair to be accused that we pre-planned the transfer of funds to PS-DBM. No money was diverted to corruption. How can one think of corruption when people are dying and many have been criticizing that the government is unprepared and slow?”

Taking up the COA review, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee initiated a legislative investigation into the alleged DOH “deficiencies” in handling some P68 billion of COVID-19 response funds. At the virtual public hearing at the Senate, Drilon described it as “premeditated plunder” reacting on the COA report. Drilon traced this after DOH transferred P42 billion to the procurement service of the DBM that farmed out to ‘’mysterious’’ bidders the contracts of supposed ‘’overpriced’’ PPEs and other COVID-19 medical supplies.

One of which was P3.82 billion worth of 2 million units of PPEs at P1,910 each purchased from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.  The Taiwan-based company is reportedly connected to a presidential crony businessman Michael Yang.

Subsequently, President Duterte confirmed his association with Yang dates back when he was still Mayor of Davao City as a “pagador” (paymaster) of Chinese businessmen wanting to do business in the Philippines.

Galvez credited Senator Pia Cayetano for assisting the NTF to get the closest estimated number of at least 16 million PPE sets needed to procure enough supply for distribution to the whole country. At that time last year, Galvez disclosed the President ordered the NTF to take over the procurement of PPEs because the DOH did not have the capacity nor manpower to purchase such a huge volume as more than HCWs, including DOH medical personnel got COVID-19-infection.

So Galvez convened the NTF-Resource Management and Logistics Cluster members including the DOH; the DBM-PS; the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI); Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), and even the military provided for the C-130 plane to secure the immediate delivery of available PPEs procured from China.

“We looked at domestic production, but it is slow. We also asked the private sector for assistance. We inquired with other agencies including the diplomatic corps how we can produce the needed number of PPEs…So we asked PS-DBM to look for supplies,” he narrated on. When the DBM-PS found a supplier from China that had the capacity to produce ten million sets in a span of one week for PPEs, Galvez swore the NTF did not waste time in finalizing the deal and arranged the delivery.

Before accepting the delivery, Galvez averred these PPEs went through NTF’s thorough inspection. The suppliers from Beijing, he added, even sent Chinese team to train HCWs on the proper wearing and doffing of PPEs to reduce risks of contamination once they take it off.

At the IATF meeting last Thursday night, Galvez explained anew each PPE set that was supposedly “over-priced” at P1,700 was of medical-grade quality consisting of cover-all, gloves, head cover, shoe cover, goggles, N95 mask, surgical mask, and surgical gown. In response to the report of Galvez, the President instead addressed himself to the Senators with ardent wish: “Eh pakiusap lang for respeto.”

While seemingly unfazed by these allegations now thrown at the very doorsteps at the Office of the President, the Duterte Cabinet members being pilloried at the halls of Congress could only bewail the charges hitting directly their faces. But the President had the last shot back: “I hope that someday we will have also a time to question your actuations.”

And President Duterte vows to throw not just $64 questions to the Senators.