By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The Iloilo City Government on Monday, April 6, received 2,700 testing kits and 800 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) it ordered from South Korea as part of its response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas presented the test kits and PPEs in a press conference Monday morning.
The testing kits worth P5.5 million were acquired using cash donations from Dr. Henry Chusuey (P3.5 million), the Que family of Iloilo Supermart (P1 million) and Edgar ‘Injap’ Sia (P1 million).
The PPEs worth P1.8 million were acquired using donations from Mr. Alfonso Tan (P1 million) and the Jamora brothers (P1 million).
The remaining amount from their donations were used to buy additional food supplies for the city’s residents.
The City Government has also asked dressmakers and fashion designers in the city to make PPEs for frontliners in hospitals and clinics in the city.
The mayor has previously called on the Department of Health (DOH) to conduct mass testing in the city. He has also called on the DOH to accredit the West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSU-MC) and the University of San Agustin as COVID-19 testing centers.
SUPPORT FOR WVMC
The mayor said he had met with Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) chief Dr. Joseph Nicolo to discuss the needs of the hospital.
“[The WVMC] needs more so it can accommodate more patients. We’re looking for funds, and I’ve already asked [Dr. Nicolo] to go to our City Engineer so we know how much we’re going to need and hopefully there is still an amenable contractor because [the WVMC] needs temporary partitions, with some reaching up to the ceiling and some being covered,” he said.
