China to donate 100K Covid-19 test kits to PH: DFA chief

China getting chartered flight by weekend; mysteriously there are no Philippine flights. I am asked to please alert Customs to let donation through pronto—and the rest of the bureaucracy not to throw a monkey wrench. Dear Thor, please, prepare your lightning bolts. https://t.co/puudrOWnlZ

— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) March 18, 2020

MANILA – The Chinese government is donating 100,000 coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) test kits and other essential medical supplies to the Philippines, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said on Wednesday.

“China (is) getting a chartered flight by the weekend; mysteriously there are no Philippine flights. I am asked to please alert Customs to let donation through pronto,” he said in a tweet.

Locsin said the donation would also include 10,000 N95 masks, 10,000 sets of personal protective equipment, and 100,000 surgical masks.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said it is now facilitating with the Department of Health the speedy turnover of said donations once they arrived in the country.

“Ambassador Huang reaffirms that the Philippines continues to stand close in China’s heart as our centuries-long relationship has shown. The Chinese people stand ready to help their Philippine brothers and sisters to go through this difficult time,” the embassy wrote on its official social media page.

The additional donation was announced days after Beijing donated a total of 2,000 high-tech test kits, also known as BGI RT-qCPR test kits, to Manila.