May 3, 2021
The Makabayan Bloc wants to investigate the government’s alleged preference in buying imported personal protective equipment (PPEs) over locally made ones amid the country’s fight against the pandemic.
The solons filed House Resolution 1735, urging the House committee on trade and industry to look into the issue on PPEs.
The progressive lawmakers said the PPEs were imported from China.
The importation preference “practically elbowed out local manufacturers that the government had asked to repurpose their factories for the anticipated increase demand for PPE during the pandemic,” it said.
“The local industry could not compete with foreign PPE manufacturers, which are now flooding the domestic with low-cost, albeit some were even reported to be substandard, PPEs from China,” the bloc said.
"The local industry could not compete with foreign PPE manufacturers, which are now flooding the domestic with low-cost, albeit some were even reported to be substandard, PPEs from China," the bloc said.
Published April 30, 2021, 9:30 AM
The government was able to buy only P660 million worth of medical grade personal protective equipment (PPEs) from local manufacturers, which are still suffering from excess capacity due to poor local demand as government procurement policy favors the cheapest price being offered by importers.
Maritess Jocson Agoncillo, executive editor of Confederation of Wearable Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP), said that members of the Confederation of Philippine Manufacturers of PPEs (CPMP) were able to supply the government for the period November-December last year. CONWEP is the parent organization of CPMP.
“Because we were able to only join the government procurement process around end 2020 (Nov/Dec) period, from this only two members out of 5 generated contracts worth around P660 million. Apple to apple analysis, one of our repurposed firm on face mask was not able to ‘qualify’ or generate contract during the December/Nov bidding,” said
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(MANILA BULLETIN File Photo)
“Nakakatawa ‘no, tayo magsusupply sa labas tapos ‘yong sariling atin hindi natin ma-supply (It’s funny, that we are supplying other countries when we cannot even supply for our own people),” Senator Nancy Binay said in dismay after garments exporters disclosed the plan on Wednesday, April 28.
During the hearing of the Senate economic affairs committee, Coalition of Philippine Manufacturers of PPE (CPMP) Executive Director Rosette Carrillo reiterated the group’s lament last year about the lack of demand from the government.
“The way the government purchases PPE, it is subject to certain standards, rules for purchasing, so we were subjected to the lowest cost, and unfortunately, at the same time, the Philippine market was flooded with very low-cost PPEs from China, some of them are even substandard,” Carrillo told the senators.