Gordon blames Duque for Duterte’s ‘mukhang pera’ comment on Red Cross

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) is greedy for money might have been misled by a remark from Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Senator Richard Gordon said Friday.

“I think he was misled by the statement. Because the way the predicate was laid by Sec. Duque was wrong. Sabi niya, nagtest na ulit noong binayaran (He said we continued testing when the debt was paid),” Gordon, PRC chairman said in a press briefing with reporters.

During the Cabinet meeting, Duque reported that the suspension of PRC swab tests has led to a decrease in the nationwide COVID-19 reporting.

“Nabayaran na po ang PRC at nagbukas na po silang muli kaya patuloy na po ang kanilang pagsusuri ng mga swab specimen (PRC has already been paid and it is open again to continue checking the swab specimen),” Duque said.

This is when Duterte commented: “Mukhang pera.”

READ:‘Mukhang pera’ Duterte says as PRC resumes COVID tests after PhilHealth pays debt

But Gordon argued that “we never stopped testing. We started testing in October. And in fact binabaan na namin yung hinihinging presyo ng PhilHealth. That’s why we tried very hard to bring the price down.”

Godron said COVID-19 tests being conducted by the PRC is now reaching around 10,000 daily.

/MUF