News Roundup 19 May 2020
May 19, 2020 • 3 min Read
Duterte: NEDA and local governments to work on ‘new normal’ recovery programs | PHILSTAR.COM – The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will work with local governments to craft regional recovery programs as the Philippines prepares for the “new normal.” In his eighth report to Congress on the government’s response to the coronavirus, President Rodrigo Duterte said the regional recovery programs would clearly define the role of local government units (LGUs) in the recovery process and provide a description of their activities under each sector. “The NEDA Regional Development Group directed all NEDA regional offices to engage LGUs, particularly those represented in regional development councils to formulate regional recovery programs for their respective jurisdictions,” Duterte said in his report. “The approach shall be bottom-up, responsive to the needs of the community,” he added. The government defines “new normal” as the emerging behaviors, situations, and minimum public health standards that will be institutionalized in common or routine practices and remain even after the pandemic while the disease is not totally eradicated through means such as widespread immunization.
Duque defends procurement of pricier medical equipment | INQUIRER.NET – Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Tuesday defended the government’s procurement of pricier medical equipment amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier flagged what he said were “grossly overpriced” health and medical supplies purchased by the government for the Department of Health. On Tuesday’s hearing of the Senate committee of the whole on updates on the COVID-19 response, the senator promptly confronted Duque about it, presenting a comparison of the cost of supplies procured by the private sector to items bought by the government. Duque then referred the question to Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Lao, executive director of the Procurement Service, saying “none of these items (were) directly procured by DOH.” “We had to ask the help of the PS-DBM (Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management) precisely because at around that time, we were beginning to ramp up testing capacity,” Duque said. “We believe that the PS-DBM has a much wider network of local and international suppliers. We were thinking they would be able to get at very, very competitive if not reasonable pricing points,” he added.
Drilon questions PhilHealth’s stiff COVID-19 test package | Manila Bulletin – Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Tuesday questioned why the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is charging members a costly package for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing when others, such as the Philippine Red Cross can offer similar rates at a much lower price. Drilon said he cannot understand why PhilHealth has approved a COVID-19 package rate at P8, 150 when the PRC can offer the same at half the price. “I think this is a little overpriced and this causes unnecessary depletion of the resources of PhilHealth,” the minority leader further said. “Red Cross has shown they could make it viable at P4,000, so why is PhilHealth package costing the members of PhilHealth P8,150?” he asked.
High Court not likely to grant ABS-CBN plea | The Manila Times – The Supreme Court (SC) is not inclined at this time to grant a temporary restraining order (TRO) to ABS-CBN Corp., which is challenging a closure order from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The Manila Times learned, from sources in the court who are familiar with the case, that many of the magistrates would rather ask the NTC to comment on ABS-CBN’s plea instead of granting a TRO outright. The court will sit en banc on Tuesday, May 19 to take up the petition, which has been raffled to Senior Associate Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe.
