PH Navy ship eyed to bring home protective gear bought from China
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government is considering using a Philippine Navy ship to bring home the personal protective gear it had bought from China.
“Most probably 10 days from now, baka ang gawin natin is papakuha natin sa ating Navy ship yung more or less 250,000 (PPE sets),” COVID-19 Response Chief Implementor Carlito Galvez Jr. told reporters Tuesday.
The Philippine government earlier purchased 1 million PPE sets worth P1.8 billion from China to support health workers and those on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19.
Each PPE set consists of an N95 mask, goggles, coveralls, head cover, shoe cover, surgical mask, gloves, and surgical gown.
One Philippine Air Force C-130, which can accommodate a maximum of 15,000 PPE sets per flight, has been flying back and forth to China daily to pick up the medical supplies. The Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have been commissioned by the government to assist in bringing home the PPE sets.
Before April 25, Galvez estimated that the Philippine government would have already picked up 250,000 PPE sets.
Article continues after this advertisementThe Chinese government has also chartered a flight to send 12,000 PPE sets that the Philippine government procured, he said.
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