President Duterte called the Philippine Red Cross “mukhang pera” amidst the PhilHealth debt issue.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday called the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) “mukhang pera” amidst the PhilHealth debt issue.
This, after Health Secretary Francisco Duque III announced that the Philippine Red Cross had continued its operations after it was paid half of its debt.
In a live briefing on Thursday, Duque said that the Philippine Red Cross continued testing swab specimens after the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) paid an initial PHP 500 million of its over PHP 930 million debt.
President Duterte then said, “Mukhang pera“.
READ ALSO: Philippine Red Cross ‘Preparing A Letter’ Asking PhilHealth To Pay For Remaining Balance
President Duterte had earlier vowed to pay off the PHP 930-million debt of PhilHealth to the Philippine Red Cross after the humanitarian organization stopped accepting COVID-19 tests chargeable to the state insurer.
PhilHealth waited for clearance from the Department of Justice (DOJ) before releasing the initial payment.
Philippine Red Cross Chairman and Senator Richard Gordon had expressed his gratitude to President Duterte after PhilHealth released an initial payment to the Philippine Red Cross, but pressed PhilHealth to settle its debt in full.
Last Thursday, PhilHealth said that it had released another PHP 100 million in payment to the Philippine Red Cross.
Meanwhile, President Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 118, series of 2020, directing the Department of Health (DOH)— in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) — to ensure affordability and accessibility of COVID-19 tests and test kits.
READ ALSO: DOH Lauds President Duterte’s Directive Implementing COVID-19 Testing Prices Cap
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