Iloilo City plans to purchase P15-M mobile laboratory for Covid-19 testing

By Emme Rose Santiagudo

The Iloilo City government is planning to purchase its own mobile laboratory to diagnose and fight the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Mayor Jerry Treñas said the container van laboratory will serve as a testing site for COVID-19.

“May isa kita ginalantaw nga laboratory nga ara sa container van, we are checking if this can be made possible. Kon pwede na naton mausar, we will purchase it,” he said in a press conference on Friday.

According to the mayor, the 40-footer container van is equipped with medical equipment and medicines.

He said that the city government has consulted the Department of Health (DOH) if the mobile lab can be accredited by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM).

“Kon pwede ni ma-accredit sang RITM, then we will conduct our COVID-19 testing here and we can purchase more test kits. Ginpalantaw ko sa pa DOH and hambal nila mabulig sila sa accreditation and training sang mga medical personnel,” he said.

Treñas said the city government can procure the container van laboratory using the one-month Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) granted to the city worth P94 million as part of the city’s COVID-19 response under the Bayanihan Grant.

“Our City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) received the P94 million IRA already and we can use this to purchase the container van laboratory and more testing kits,” he said.

Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) in Mandurriao district is the only accredited subnational testing laboratory for Covid-19 in Iloilo City and the entire Western Visayas.

Local authorities have been pushing for the accreditation of an additional testing laboratory in Iloilo City particularly in West Visayas State University Medical Center (WVSUMC) but it is still on the first stage of the accreditation.

On Saturday, Iloilo City logged one new COVID-19 case involving a 77-year-old female from Iloilo City.

Based on Case Bulletin No. 24 of the Department of Health Center for Health Development in Western Visayas (DOH-CHD 6), COVID-19 cases in Iloilo City totaled to six with one death and one recovery.