The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is now facing possible new investigation from authorities, this time over its alleged “false positive” results in the processing of Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test results.
This as President Duterte continued his tirade against PRC Chairman and Sen. Richard J. Gordon, who is currently leading the Senate probe into alleged anomalies in the purchase of the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) of medical supplies.
During his public address last Monday, Duterte ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to investigate the matter after several government agencies reported false positive result cases.
Among the said agencies is the Department of Finance (DOF) with 44 staff, who were initially tested positive for novel coronavirus disease (Covid-19) by the PRC, but later turned out to be negative for the virus after confirmatory tests.
The Presidential Security Group (PSG) also reported 187 personnel, who turned out to be free from Covid-19 with confirmatory tests after initially tagged as positive by the PRC.
Duterte noted that while RT-PCR results are not 100 percent accurate, most of the false positive cases might be attributed to lab contamination.
“Because of this information, the DOH must investigate this matter. You could be putting more people at risk. You can be falsely adding to positive cases per day,” Duterte said.
PRC is currently one of the country’s biggest testing laboratories for Covid-19 samples.
Aside from the false positive results, Duterte earlier said he wants PRC to be audited by the Commission on Audit (COA) to determine if the government funds it received were properly used.
Duterte insists that his call for the investigation is not an attack on the PRC, but only aims to hold Gordon accountable for supposedly destroying the credibility of the nongovernment organization.
The President also ordered the investigation of Gordon for his supposed failure to comply with the order of COA to return P86 million worth of notice of disallowance during the lawmaker’s stint at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
PRC vaccination update
The PRC, meanwhile, said Tuesday that have already administered Covid-19 vaccines to a total of 6,870 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and seafarers after they were moved to A1 category for the government’s vaccination program.
“In the PRC Bakuna Centers located in NCR [National Capital Region], Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao as part of the Covid-19 Vaccination Program for OFWs, we have administered 3,148 individuals with their first dose of Moderna, while 2,032 were jabbed with their second dose. PRC also administered Janssen to 3,722 individuals,” said PRC Health Services Manager Mark Abrigo.
“Please have yourself vaccinated to save your loved ones, yourself, and your neighbors. We are giving this for free, so there is no reason for you not to avail it,” reiterated Gordon.
Gordon also said that opening an additional Bakuna Center right in the middle of Edsa has definitely “boosted our capacity as we support the government in the ongoing National Covid-19 Vaccination Program.”
As of September 18, 2021, the PRC has vaccinated more than 230,087 individuals in their 16 Bakuna Buses, and 21 PRC Bakuna Centers nationwide.
For those who want to get vaccinated, the PRC said that they can register for vaccination, call 1158 or e-mail us at 1158-appoinments@redcross.org.ph. With Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco