DOH: 'Every centavo' of P9-B fund used for COVID-19 response

The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday maintained that “every centavo” of its P9-billion fund for the establishment of makeshift hospitals and isolation facilities for COVID-19 patients is “accounted for and are available for the public to access.”

This comes after Senator Risa Hontiveros called on the DOH and the government’s inter-agency COVID-19 task force to publicize an expenditure report on the multibillion-peso fund as the country battles a new surge in infections. 

The DOH said P4.36 billion out of the P4.49 billion funds provided under the first Bayanihan Law has been utilized as of December 31 last year for the procurement of medical equipment such as mechanical ventilators and biological safety cabinets.

It added that P3.88 billion out of the P4.5 billion provided under the second Bayanihan Law has also been used as of December 31, 2020 for the construction of temporary quarantine and isolation facilities, field hospitals, and dormitories for frontliners.

Out of the remaining P617 million, P308 million has been used to procure equipment such as high flow nasal cannula oxygen machines and portable x-ray machines, the agency said.

The DOH vowed to furnish senators with the full expenditure report.

“The DOH is, and has always been, committed to upholding utmost integrity and transparency in fulfillment of its mandate,” it said.

The government has been scrambling to set up modular tents and hospital extensions as the surge overwhelms healthcare facilities and workers. 

Some COVID-19 cases have died outside of hospitals while waiting for a bed to become available, while doctors are forced to treat patients inside vehicles due to full capacity. 

“Filipinos shouldn’t have to watch their loved ones die, sometimes under the heat of the sun, just because hospitals are full,” Hontiveros said.

The Philippines has 167,279 active cases as of Thursday afternoon. —KBK, GMA News