MANILA – Sen. Richard Gordon reacted over President Rodrigo Duterte’s tagging of the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) as “mukhang pera” after the organization halted its coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing.
Gordon, who chairs the PRC, said out of respect, he wants to give the country’s chief executive the benefit of the doubt regarding his statement during his public address on Thursday evening.
“I’ll give him (Duterte) the benefit of the doubt. Baka naman ang tinutukoy n’ya ‘yung talagang nagsamantala nung hindi kami nag-test kasi ang baba ng test namin, ‘yung halaga,” Gordon said in an interview over ABS-CBN’s TeleRadyo.
“Hindi kami mukhang pera. Pero sabi ko lang, dahan-dahan naman sa pananalita because nakakatulong naman kami. Hindi naman kami umutang. Sila ang umutang, sila nagpa-test, ginawa namin. ‘Di ba dapat bayaran ninyo?” he added.
Last month, the PRC stopped accepting specimens from returning Filipinos, mega swabbing facilities and local government units, among others, due to the mounting unpaid debt of P900 million.
On Oct. 27, the state health insurer made a partial payment of P500 million prompting the PRC to resume its COVID-19 testing. On Thursday, the PhilHealth paid an additional P100 million.
In a separate press conference, Gordon said it was Health secretary Francisco Duque III who should be blamed for Duterte’s quip due to the way he narrated his report before the President.
“I’m not offended. I think the President should really be careful. Minsan hindi niya alam that the statement is not really presidential,” Gordon said. “I think (Duterte) was misled by the statement.”
“The way the predicate was laid out by Sec. Duque was wrong. Sabi niya, ‘Nag-test na ulit nung binayaran,’” the senator said.
During Thursday’s public address, Duterte uttered “mukhang pera” while Duque was announcing that the PRC has resumed its testing.
Red Cross is responsible for about one million COVID-19 tests, nearly a fourth of the country’s total 3.8 million tests.
Under an agreement it signed with the government earlier this year, the PRC will charge P3,500 for the swabbing of frontliners and other agencies endorsed by the PhilHealth, which will cover the cost of their COVID-19 tests./PN
