MANILA, Philippines — Senator Risa Hontiveros suspects there is around P4 million worth of allegedly unaccounted personal protective equipment (PPE) sets that the government had procured for its response efforts to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. ADVERTISEMENTBudget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao later denied this and said the PPE sets made in China were in fact the cheapest and best options for the Philippines during the first months of its pandemic response. The procurement of which is ongoing.”“This means the DBM and DOH were procuring PPE sets for P2,000 each. However, also in May, the Palace reported that during their Inter-Agency Task Force meeting, the government procured PPE sets worth P1,100 each,” said Hontiveros. That’s around P4 billion worth of PPE sets that is unaccounted for.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 20, 2020 07:30 UTC