MANILA, Philippines — Reports of hospitals being raided to confiscate their medical supplies and equipment are “fake news”, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said Thursday.
OCD spokesperson Mark Timbal made the clarification after screenshots of messages claiming the alleged hospital raids circulated online.
“May kumakalat po na fake news that some hospitals were raided by government specifically OCD to confiscate their supplies and equipment para ipamigay sa ibang hospitals. Fake news po yan,” Timbal said in a text message.
(There are reports circulating that some hospitals were raided by government specifically OCD to confiscate their supplies and equipment to be given to other hospitals. That is fake news.)
“What we have pooled are distributed to various recipients. In the case of the COVID-19 response, OCD procured PPEs (personal protective equipment) and other medical supplies and received donations from various donors. These are then provided to various hospital recipients,” he added.
The Medical City, one of the hospitals that were allegedly raided, has also denied the reports.
“There are news circulating that a raid of PPEs occurred in our premises on the evening of April 1. We deny this and encourage everyone to be careful in spreading unverified information,” The Medical City said in a Facebook post.
President Rodrigo Duterte earlier issued Administrative Order No. 27 which establishes a framework wherein donations of medicines, medical equipment and supplies and other health products to the government and the health department amid the COVID-19 crisis will be coordinated and transmitted to the OCD.