Duque calls Marikina’s COVID-19 testing laboratory one of the best in PH

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly a month after it was initially set to start operating, Marikina City’s testing center for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) will likely open on Tuesday, April 21, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has confirmed that a license would finally be granted to the laboratory — which he praised as one of the best in the country — after the DOH was ordered by the task force in charge of the national COVID-19 response to hasten accreditation of the facility.

“Proficiency tests will end on Monday, so most likely on Tuesday it can start running,” Duque said after personally inspecting the center on Friday. “Yes, we will provide an accreditation certificate.”

The lack of approval from the DOH has been the biggest obstacle faced by the Marikina City government which has worked for over a month to start localized testing. A laboratory inside the City Health Office was ready almost immediately after the Luzon-wide lockdown began, but the DOH said the facility should be housed separately for safety reasons.

Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said last week that he would open the laboratory at its new location at Barangay Concepcion Uno with or without a nod from the DOH, citing its unresponsiveness. Within minutes of his announcement, the health department sent an inspection team.

The drawn-out process of approving Marikina’s testing center was even cited in a Senate resolution that had called for Duque’s resignation.

Duque heaped praises on the laboratory, however, after his inspection.

“I hope this laboratory will be a model to other local government units in order to expand testing capacity,” he said. “It is one of the best laboratories I’ve seen. It was built nicely, the layout is organized, the furnishing tastefully executed.”

The local government said the testing facility could process 400 to 500 COVID-19 tests per day.

Teodoro earlier said testing would be free for Marikina residents and those from neighboring areas, including the hard-hit province of Rizal. The initial laboratory was set to start operating when testing for poorer Filipinos had still been scarce.

Several local governments have since begun community-based testing to contain the spread of COVID-19.