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Lacson to grill DOH about ambulances allegedly overpriced by P1M

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Katrina Domingo and Sherrie Anne Torres, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATE) - Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Friday said he would question the Department of Health (DOH) about why it bought ambulances at P2.5 million, about P1 million pricier than the ones purchased by local government units (LGU).The DOH distributed 98 of these overpriced ambulance units in Calabarzon alone, Lacson told ABS-CBN News in a text message.&quot;I checked the official records of such procurement- one by the DOH, the other by the LGU,&quot; he said.&quot;The difference in their purchase prices are too glaring to ignore,&quot; he said.Lacson said a unit of a Nissan cargo van costs about P1.27 million, while an Automated External Defibrillator (AEB) is priced at P300,000 per unit.The DOH could have purchased 5 ambulances, instead of just 3, if it did not procure allegedly overpriced units, he said.The senator said the matter would be brought up either during the next Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on how the DOH spent billions of COVID-19 funds or during budget deliberations.&quot;I have a way of validating as I always do whenever a &#x27;whiff of corruption&#x27; catches my attention,&quot; he said, borrowing one of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s catchphrases.The DOH &quot;has always been transparent in all our transactions,&quot; Health Spokesperson and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online press conference, when asked about the ambulances.&quot;Ito po &#x27;yung kumpleto ang mga equipment sa loob dahil ginagamit siya for patient transport... especially those who are critically ill,&quot; she said.(These are the ones that are fully equipped for patient transport... especially those who are critically ill.)&quot;Kasama na din po sa specs na binigay namin &#x27;yung training ng ambulance drivers and health care works na itatalaga within the ambulance itself,&quot; she said.(Included in the specs we submitted were the training of ambulance drivers and health care workers who will be assigned to man the ambulance itself.)The Blue Ribbon panel earlier confirmed that the DOH transferred P42 billion to the Department of Budget and Management&#x27;s Procurement Service without proper documents.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/18/21/doh-transferred-p42b-to-dbm-to-mask-unobligation-rate-inefficiency-drilon">DOH transferred P42B to Budget department &#x27;to mask unobligation rate, inefficiency&#x27;: Drilon</a></li></ul>Senate investigations also found that a portion of that fund was used to purchase allegedly overpriced face masks and RT-PCR test kits from Pharmally, a corporation that used fake addresses in its incorporation documents and linked to fraudulent activities in Taiwan.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/27/21/top-dbm-contractor-used-fake-addresses-senators">Senators flag DBM top contractor for using fake addresses in registration papers</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/business/09/01/21/hontiveros-2-top-pharmally-officials-allegedly-wanted-in-taiwan">Hontiveros says 2 top Pharmally officials allegedly wanted in Taiwan</a></li></ul><div>RELATED VIDEO</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1763107" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Sen. Panfilo Lacson will question DOH why it bought ambulances at P2.5 million, about P1 million pricier than the ones purchased by LGUs.

Lacson to grill DOH about ambulances allegedly overpriced by P1M

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Lacson to grill DOH about ambulances allegedly overpriced by P1M

Katrina Domingo and Sherrie Anne Torres,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 03, 2021 10:18 AM PHT

|

Updated Sep 03, 2021 01:50 PM PHT

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Panfilo Lacson

Senate

ambulances

DOH

Department of Health

health

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee

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