MANILA, Philippines — JBros Construction Corp. is offering some 570 barangay health stations and P2.4 billion to the Health department, the company said in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.
They said the health stations could be used as response centers for patients of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), while the additional funds could be used to compensate frontline health workers and purchase protective equipment.
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In 2016, the company was awarded a contract to construct 3,200 barangay health stations across the country, for which the Department of Health under then Health Secretary Janette Garin deposited P3.5 billion to the Landbank of the Philippines under a letter of credit.
A letter of credit issued by a bank is used to document a guarantee for payments made to a specified person under specified conditions.
However, the DOH under the leadership of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III later said it uncovered anomalies within the project, prompting the two parties to seek arbitration under the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission, who later held that the DOH owed Jbros P1.04 billion of the original P3.5 billion as a downpayment for 570 of the accomplished health centers.
Duque told reporters then that no payments had been released since he assumed his current post in 2017, and thus, the department opted to secure an injunction against the award.
"It would be at the height of gross negligence and malicious intent to find technicalities to shoot down viable and feasible solutions that are grossly advantageous to the government and to the Filipino people," their statement read.
"Apropos is the Filipino saying, 'Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?' Filipino lives are at stake."
As of this writing, there are currently 2,084 confirmed patients of the new pathogen in the country after 538 new cases were reported by the DOH on Tuesday afternoon.
The United Nations has warned the international community that the "whole of humanity" was put at risk by the novel coronavirus, saying millions could day if collective action was not taken. — Franco Luna
If you believe you have come into possible contact with infected patients, you may be directed to the proper office of the Department of Health for advice through the following lines: (632) 8651-7800 local 1149/1150 or (632) 165-364.
You may also opt to call the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine at (02) 8807-2631/ 8807-2632/ 8807-2637.