Duque: Pharmally must compensate gov’t if face shield expiry date tampering is true
Pharmally
Pharmaceutical Corp. should compensate the government if it’s true that the
company changed the expiration dates of medical-grade face shields it delivered
to the Department of Health (DOH), the country’s health chief said on Monday.
The
Pharmally official disclosed that the company changed the 2020 production date
making it 2021.
During a
meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
said he instructed the Department of Health’s (DOH) procurement and supply
chain office to make an assessment on the production dates of the face shields
delivered to the government.
“At kung
totoong mayroon pong pandaraya o ito pong ginawa ng Pharmally ay kinakailangan
ay bawiin ng gobyerno doon sa kompanyang iyan iyong isang taon na kanila pong
tinamper,” Duque said.
“Kasi
kung halimbawa 36 months at tinamper ‘yung production date from 2020 to 2021,
so may isang taon na daya. So kinakailangan ‘yung isang taon na ‘yun magkaroon
ng restitution sa gobyerno iyong halaga nung face shield.”
The
health secretary also addressed the expiration issue of the face shields bought
by the DOH through the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management
(PS-DBM).
Duque
said the medical grade face shield contains foam and garter that may
deteriorate over time, noting however, that the product should have a shelf life
of about 36 months.
The
health chief said the DOH inspection team observes strict guidelines before
accepting deliveries and supplies must pass stringent inspection.
“Ganoon
din po ang akin pong nakalap na report, ang PS-DBM mayroon din po silang inspection
team,” he said.
“Hindi po
sila basta-basta puwedeng tumanggap ng mga supplies na hindi po ito sinusuring
maigi in terms of quality o ‘yung kalidad, iyon pong quantity, at in accordance
with the technical specifications na iyan po ang inuutos ng DOH na dapat sundin
ng supplier.” PND
