Gov’t-procured PPE set based on WHO standards: Roque

MANILA – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday assured that government-procured personal protective equipment (PPE) set was compliant with the quality specification standards of the World Health Organization (WHO), contradicting the hounding issues on alleged overpricing.

The complete PPE set procured by the Department of Health (DOH) at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic consists of nine components including overall suits, gloves, N95 masks, head cover, shoe cover, surgical masks, surgical gowns, apron, and face shields.

“The fact remains, we are compliant with WHO standards, napakalaki po ng diperensiya (there is a big difference) for them to wiggle their way out of this reality and fact – 1,700 as against 3,800 (of previous administration). And people of the Philippines, tingnan ninyo po kung ano ang binili natin, kumpletong-kumpleto po, nine-piece po iyan at (looked what we bought, complete, that’s nice-piece PPE set and) it is based on WHO standards,” Roque said in a virtual Palace briefing.

In the same media briefing, DOH Assistant Secretary Charade Grande said the PPE set was “adequately procured” by the government to fully protect the healthcare workers against Covid-19 infection.

As the health crisis experienced globally, Grande emphasized the DOH’s technical specifications of the PPE set were based on the WHO standards.

The delivered PPE set in the Philippines, she added, were duly “inspected, verified, and found to be in order and in conformity with the technical specifications provided by the DOH.”

Grande noted they have not received a single complaint on the quality of the PPE set used by the healthcare workers.

The DOH earlier maintained that there was no overpricing of PPE set as the costs were equivalent to the high-level demand of protective gears worldwide, at the height of the pandemic.

Grande said the DOH was able to procure the required PPE set, through the Procurement Service Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM), at a price ranging from PHP1,700 to “less than” PHP2,000–which is much lower than the allocated budget for the purchase request of PHP2,000 per unit.

The PS-DBM also earlier dismissed the alleged overpricing in the procurement of PPE set, saying all the documents for the acquisition “are evident since all notices of award of the PS-DBM have been made public”.