P500 disparity in Covid-19 test kits leads to huge gap in orders

MANILA, Philippines — A P500 “disparity” in purchasing Covid-19 test kits can lead to a huge gap when the government orders in bulk, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo said on Monday.

At the hearing of the House of Representatives appropriations panel on the utilization of the funds of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Quimbo said there were instances when test kits of the same brand and the same method were priced at P2,083 and P1,562.

“I observed that there were instances that the testing types were the same, the brand names were the same, but prices were different. And the price difference was as high as about P500. So for example, there was a price difference of P2,083 versus P1,562,” said Quimbo, the senior vice chairperson of the appropriations committee. “Why did you order in different lots? Why did you not have these ordered at the same time to get favorable prices? Because of that, prices were different. And there’s a P500 disparity across certain lots and that’s big, especially if you make big orders,” she added.

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