The Philippines is renegotiating to buy 200 intensive care unit (ICU) beds from an Austrian company after bungling an earlier chance to acquire the much-needed hospital fixture in October.
That missed opportunity again angered several medical doctors, who are scrambling to address the COVID-19 surge in overran hospitals.
The botched deal was also “enough to cause a shouting session” in a recent emergency Cabinet meeting where Health Secretary Francisco Duque III got a dressing down, according to a source.
Another government source confirmed the supposed offer in October, but clarified that the ICU beds were not a donation but supposedly through a “deliver-now-pay-later” scheme.
The sources did not say if President Duterte was present in the Cabinet meeting.
In a phone interview on Monday, Duque denied refusing any foreign aid or failing to act promptly, saying that would be such a “grave sin” especially in time of a health crisis.
He also denied getting reprimanded by fellow Cabinet members, who only learned about the Austrian offer when the Philippines was already in the midst of a second wave of infection.
In a statement, the Department of Health (DOH) said the beds were never offered as a donation, “hence this will [have to] undergo the normal procurement process.” INQ