By Samuel P. Medenilla & Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
THE Department of Health (DOH) said on Monday it is working with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), industry associations, and private firms to locally manufacture personal protective equipment (PPEs) to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
A group of local manufacturers will soon be producing an estimated 10,000 medical-grade PPE coveralls daily to help address the shortage of the said item, a lack that has been blamed for the high rate of deaths—including at least 17 doctors—among frontliners attending to virus-stricken patients.
In an online press briefing, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (Conwep) is set to start the production of the PPEs next week.
“Raw materials for these will be shipped in by this week and the roll out of production at the garment factories will immediately start after the Holy Week [April 5 to April 11],” Nograles said.
Nograles said the DTI’s Bureau of Investments (BOI) tapped Conwep for the initiative due to the prevailing shortage of PPEs.
“Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, our country was not a local producer of medical-grade PPEs,” Nograles said.
As this developed, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire appealed to private hospitals not to take advantage, during these difficult times, by charging patients the PPEs if they are from the government or donated by the private sector. The issue was raised during the virtual presser that a hospital was charging patients even for “donated” PPEs.
Vergeire said, “The DOH and the Philippine General Hospital [PGH] approved the design prototype for the PPEs, while Conwep has secured a supplier for the raw materials, such as face hoodies and elastic bands, that are certified to have met international standards for waterproofing and resistance to contaminants.
“This is to ensure that the PPEs produced will be of ‘medical grade’ and meet prescribed specifications for appropriate safety and protection,” she said.
Vergeire explained that Conwep can import PPE parts that have fabric import certificates from an international accreditation firm.
“Given the global shortage of medical supplies and equipment, we are glad that many sectors in the country are coming together to provide urgent PPEs to our frontline health workers in our fight against Covid-19,” Vergeire said.