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PH Red Cross to resume COVID-19 testing after PhilHealth pays half of P1.1-B debt

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA (2nd UPDATE) - The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday said it would resume its COVID-19 testing services, hours after the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) settled about half of its P1.1-billion debt to the humanitarian organization.PRC COVID-19 testing at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport would resume Tuesday night, while other PRC testing laboratories would reopen on October 28, Gordon told reporters in an online press conference.&quot;We embarrassed our entire country. Hindi naman kami sugapa. Sundin niyo lang &#x27;yung contract,&quot; he said, referring to an agreement that PhilHealth would shoulder the cost of COVID-19 testing for frontliners.(We embarrassed our entire country. We are not greedy. Just abide by the contract.)&quot;Ang tao ang iniisip namin eh (We are thinking about the people)... to help save lives,&quot; he said.The PRC will halt its COVID-19 testing program again should PhilHealth fail to pay for the new tests strictly 3 days after each swab is conducted, Gordon said.&quot;I will not risk the organization again,&quot; he said.&quot;Hindi na ako papayag na lalaki na naman ang utang.&quot;(I will not allow that debt to balloon again.)PhilHealth sent a P500-million check to the PRC &quot;after office hours&quot;, nearly 2 weeks after the Philippines&#x27; largest COVID-19 testing organization suspended its services.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/27/20/philhealth-pays-500-million-red-cross-covid-testing">P500M paid: PhilHealth settles half its debt to PH Red Cross for COVID-19 testing</a></li></ul>Gordon said he is willing to &quot;renegotiate&quot; with PhilHealth after the state insurer settles its remaining P600-million debt with the PRC.&quot;Kung gusto nilang P100 million ibalik ulit, fine. I&#x27;m agreeable to that. Kung &#x27;yun ang gusto nila mas maganda... Mas madali habulin,&quot; he said.(If they want to go back to the P100 million, fine. I&#x27;m agreeable to that. If that&#x27;s what they want, that&#x27;s better... It&#x27;s easier to collect.)Under the scheme, PhilHealth would have to pay the PRC P100 million in advance and &quot;replenish&quot; the &quot;revolving fund&quot; once it drops to P30 million, Gordon said.<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IKEgGxSSVlE?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></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>PhilHealth has yet to say when it plans to pay its P600-million balance with the PRC.The Red Cross is willing to give PhilHealth a list of those who availed of the agency&#x27;s free COVID-19 testing services, Gordon said.&quot;Lahat ng tinest namin may sulat &#x27;yan... May bar code &#x27;yan na kasama nung test so that can all be accounted for,&quot; he said.(All the tests we&#x27;ve done have endorsement letters... The tests also have bar codes so that can all be accounted for.)&quot;Hindi kami gagawa ng kalokohan (We will not commit anomalies). Our name is too precious in the world.&quot;As of October 27, the PRC has catered to around 26 percent or 1.15 million of the total coronavirus screenings done in the country.PhilHealth&#x27;s failure to settle its debt led to a delay in the shipment of COVID-19 testing kits from China, Gordon said.Some 450,000 swabbing units were supposed to be flown to the country Tuesday, but the delivery had to be moved to Thursday due to PRC&#x27;s debt row with PhilHealth, according to the senator.&quot;We thank you (PhilHealth) for your payment but we need you to pay the full amount,&quot; he said.Gordon meanwhile urged PhilHealth CEO Dante Gierran to investigate the state health insurer&#x27;s other concerns, particularly corruption allegations. --With a report from Sherrie Ann Torres, ABS-CBN News<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/57Faknps1PI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></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>

(2nd UPDATE) The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday said it would resume its COVID-19 testing services, hours after the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) settled about half of its P1.1-billion debt to the humanitarian organization.

(2nd UPDATE) The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) on Tuesday said it would resume its COVID-19 testing services, hours after the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) settled about half of its P1.1-billion debt to the humanitarian organization.

PH Red Cross to resume COVID-19 testing after PhilHealth pays half of P1.1-B debt

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PH Red Cross to resume COVID-19 testing after PhilHealth pays half of P1.1-B debt

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Oct 27, 2020 10:20 PM PHT

|

Updated Oct 28, 2020 12:36 AM PHT

Read More:

Philippine Red Cross

Richard Gordon

COVID-19

coronavirus disease 2019

COVID-19 testing

PhilHealth debt

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