By Elijah Felice E. Rosales & Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz
The Philippines could soon be getting its own production of rapid test kits as a lawmaker asked the national government to regulate the cost of Covid-19 testing in all hospitals and laboratories in the country.
In an interview with reporters last week, Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo disclosed he will be traveling to South Korea in June to talk to two possible investors interested in putting up shop in the Philippines. These investors are engaged in the production of test kits for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infection.
Rodolfo said he was invited by his South Korean investment counterparts to Seoul for the continuation of free trade agreement (FTA) talks, as well as discussion on possible investment on the manufacture of rapid test kits.
According to Rodolfo, he and representatives from the Department of Health (DOH) and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) would be in Korea on June 2 to June 4 “partly to talk about the FTA.”
“Second, we are looking at possible investors for test kits,” he added.
“With this invitation, I’m confident that we will be able to get at least one rapid test kit manufacturer from South Korea.”
The Philippines is struggling to carry out mass testing due to the lack of kits that can be used to assess infection. Most of the country’s test kits are either purchased or donated, and they all come from abroad on lack of manufacturing capacity for the medical tool.
Expensive
Asked why only rapid test kits and not the polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) test kits which are way accurate, Rodolfo explained that it is difficult to find an investor for the latter because the laboratory and equipment it requires are costlier to set up and purchase.
“We are looking for investors of both test kits,” the investment official said. “It’s just that it’s easier to find one for rapid test kits, while PCR test kits are harder to make because they need laboratory.”
The move to get a South Korean test kit maker in the Philippines would also boost the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors, many of whom are packing up operations in China and are planning to relocate in Southeast Asia.
“There is really a push to move facilities out of China. If you are talking about Koreans, they are bigger than Japanese when it comes to investments in China. Their investments are quite close; but Korea has more than Japan. Aside from China, South Korea’s second-biggest investment is in Vietnam, but Vietnam is already flooded so they are looking at the Philippines,” Rodolfo said.
“We have a lot of competitors now, but our relationship with South Korea is doing good, so the ‘come on’ is to go there and finish the FTA,” he concluded.
Costs
Meanwhile, Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy voiced concern on reports that some hospitals and laboratories are charging as high as P8,150 for a single test.
Herrera-Dy said there has to be transparency into the cost of Covid-19 testing to protect the public against price gouging and ensure its affordability.
“Amid the urgent need for mass testing to contain the spread of Covid-19, it is important for the government to make sure that the test kits and processing fees are being reasonably priced to give access to those not eligible for free testing,” she said in a statement issued last Sunday.
According to Herrera-Dy, even the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) is offering a Covid-19 testing package in that amount, more than double the P3,500 that the Philippine Red Cross charges for its real-time reverse-transcription PCR test.
The lawmaker said the P8,150 fee is “way too expensive and overpriced” considering that a test kit, particularly the locally developed GenAmplify, costs only P1,320 and laboratory fees are pegged at around P2,000.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III revealed during a recent hearing in the Senate that Covid-19 testing ranges from P2,710 to P8,150 per test depending on regardless whether the kit used was donated or not.
Herrera-Dy believes Covid-19 testing should be “uniform across the board and affordable” to make it accessible to all.
Regulation
According to Herrera-Dy, regulating the cost of Covid-19 testing falls within the ambit of Republic Act 11469 that grants President Duterte the power to adopt measures to respond to the crisis brought about by the pandemic.
Among others, the law authorizes the President to expedite and streamline accreditation of testing kits and facilitate prompt testing, and prioritize allocation and distribution of medical supplies to coronavirus-referral hospitals and health facilities that have the capacities to test and care for suspected and confirmed Covid-19 patients.
Herrera-Dy, one of the proponents of RA 11469 in Congress, said the law likewise authorizes the President to “enforce measures to protect people from hoarding, profiteering, injurious speculations, manipulation of prices, product deceptions, and cartels.”
The lawmaker insisted that effective, widespread testing is crucial to controlling the spread of the new coronavirus, which has so far infected over 13,000 people locally and killed more than 800.
Iloilo Rep. and former Health Secretary Janette L. Garin already pushed for the passage of House Bill 6707 or an act encouraging a baseline PCR testing for Covid-19 among vulnerable members of the society.
In her proposal, Garin said the testing shall not exceed the amount of P1,700 for the government institution and P1,800 for private institution per asymptomatic vulnerable person tested.
Last week, Marikina Rep. Stella Luz A. Quimbo reminded the Department of Health that mass testing is a key to effective reopening of the economy, which is losing P18 billion each day due to lockdown.