MANILA, Philippines — Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. and Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III on Sunday morning welcomed a team of medical experts sent by the Chinese government to share best practices amid the fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
The team, comprised of 10 medical experts in the fields of infectious disease prevention and control, clinic treatment, and laboratory testing, is set to work closely with the Department of Health for 15 days and are set to "exchange medical treatment experiences with their Filipino counterparts."
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However, the Department of Foreign Affairs clarified in a statement sent to the media that the personnel will not take part in any direct clinical diagnosis or treatment.
Along with the medical personnel came another batch of medical supplies donated to the Philippines, which consisted of 300,000 surgical masks, 30,000 medical N95 masks, 5,000 medical protective suits, 5,000 medical face shields, and 30 non-invasive ventilators.
Also present at the welcoming ceremony were Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Civilian Security and Consular Concerns Brigido Dulay, and Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
READ: U.S. casts doubt on 'intentionally incomplete' Chinese coronavirus figures
Although Beijing broadcasts a decisive victory against the new pathogen, the international community has cast doubt on its transparency in its handling of the situation, with some states implying that China has intentionally underreported and covered up its actual progress.
On Thursday, US Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) attacked Beijing's numbers as "garbage propaganda."
"Without commenting on any classified information, this much is painfully obvious: The Chinese Communist Party has lied, is lying, and will continue to lie about coronavirus to protect the regime," he said in a statement.
In the DFA's press statement, Locsin expressed his appreciation and gratitude for China’s support to the Philippines in its fight against the pandemic and affirmed the department's commitment to advancing cooperation with China.
The Chinese experts arrived with invaluable firsthand experiences to share on fighting and containing Covid. Thank you China. pic.twitter.com/OdQW7wbTKO
— Teddy Locsin Jr. (@teddyboylocsin) April 5, 2020
Donations from Beijing made headlines earlier this month after the Department of Health said at a press briefing that donated test kits from China were only 40% accurate and were thus stored away instead.
"Among the first test kits sent to us from China had just 40-percent accuracy. We did not use these because we saw the accuracy was low so we just put them away," Health Undersecretary Rosette Veirgere said.
After the Chinese Embassy in Manila hit this claim as an attempt to undermine China's contributions, Vergeire retracted this statement the following day, saying that she was actually referring to a private donation that did not come from the Chinese government.
"From a preliminary review by the [Research Isntitute for Tropical Medicine] before the donated test kits arrived, we found that the brand needs one more validation. So we agreed to not accept the donation," she said then.
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"I hope the arrival of this team will help the Philippines to improve its ability of epidemic prevention and control as well as diagnosis and treatment, so as to boost the confidence of the public in overcoming the COVID-19," Ambassador Huang Xilian said during his opening remarks at the welcoming and turnover ceremony.
"Virus respects no borders. We always say that a friend in need is a friend indeed. During the time of crisis, the Chinese government and people feel keenly for the health and safety of the Filipino people. We will always stand together with the Philippine government and people to cope with the challenges and overcome the epidemic."
As Beijing freely assists the Philippine government in its fight against COVID-19 in one front, state-run Xinhua news agency in China recently reported that the government-funded Chinese Academy of Sciences launched two research stations on Fiery Cross (Kagitingan) and Subi Reefs in Spratly Islands, both of which are Philippine-claimed territories in West Philippine Sea.
When Duterte campaigned for the 2016 presidential elections, he vowed to take a jet ski to Scarborough Shoal and plant the Philippine flag in the South China Sea to assert the country’s ownership over the area.
He later expressed surprise that people took that claim seriously.
Earlier in December 2019, Locsin wrote on his Twitter account, which he typically uses to issue official statements that the Philippines "stand[s] up to China in the things that matter without fail and are acknowledged by Vietnam as the lead in the South China Sea disputes."
READ: Philippines is 'the lead in the South China Sea disputes,' Locsin claims
— with reports from Patricia Lourdes Viray