Six other senators sign the resolution, including Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, and Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Senator Risa Hontiveros has called on the Commission on Audit to review government spending on its COVID-19 response under theHontiveros filed a resolution seeking a special audit of the government’s COVID-19 funds on Tuesday afternoon, July 28, and released it to reporters on Wednesday morning, July 29.
“We are anticipating massive allocations to address health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19. It is of critical importance that there be audit findings to guide legislators in our exercise of the power of the purse,” Hontiveros said.the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act was on March 25. It granted him 30 special powers meant to bolster his ability to direct the government’s response to the pandemic.
The government procured billions of pesos worth of personal protective equipment for P1,800 when the market price ranges from P400 to P1,000, Hontiveros said. Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr, chief implementer of the National Action Plan against COVID-19, earlier said the P1,800 PPE sets guaranteed better protection against the coronavirus, while “cheap” PPE sets only gave a “false sense of security” to the wearer.
Hontiveros also noted the importation of “more expensive” RT-PCR or swab test kits from China and South Korea, while similar, less expensive Philippine-made kits “are gathering dust in laboratories.”
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