Palace sends PPEs, tests kits, antiviral drug to Bacolod

By Dolly Yasa

 

BACOLOD City – The Office of the President stayed true to its promise to assist Bacolod City amid the worsening COVID-19 health crisis, a press statement from the Office of Mayor Evelio Leonardia said Friday.

Leonardia said 10,000 test kits, 2,000 PPEs (personal protective equipment) and 400 Remdisivir antiviral medicine are being sent to Bacolod via the Bacolod-Silay Airport.

Remdisivir is an antiviral medicine that the US Food and Drug Administration has permitted to be used to treat COVID-19 patients.

Leonardia said he received a text and a call from Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., chief implementer of the Philippines’ Declared National Policy Against COVID-19, that the test kits, PPEs and the medicine were to arrive in Bacolod Friday.

The COVID-19 packages according to Galvez are allocated for Bacolod upon the instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Bong Go.

“Kailangan po ng cold storage ‘yung test kits and Remdisivir,” said Galvez in his text message to Leonardia.

Each Remdisivir vial costs approximately P10,000.

The packages were in response to Leonardia’s urgent appeal for help, addressed to President Duterte last Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Task Force Kasanag, a civil society group here, distributed this week face shields and face masks to police officers in the city of Bacolod and the province of Negros Occidental.

“It is our little way of helping our government forces who are also in the frontline in the fight against COVID-19,” TKF founder and national commander John Chiong said.

Accompanying Chiong in the distribution of face shields and face masks is TFK Negros island commander Jean Cubillas.

The group first turned over a box of 300 face shields to the Bacolod City Police Office on Monday. It was received by BCPO director Colonel Henry Biñas.

On Tuesday, TFK officials turned over another box of face shields to Negros Occidental police provincial director Colonel Romy Inway Palgue.

TFK also donated facemasks to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group and Barangay Captain Ramon Jardin of Felisa, Bacolod City.