Robredo urges more testing, vaccines outside NCR

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Leni Robredo yesterday urged the national government to increase its COVID-19 testing and deliver more vaccine supplies in areas outside the National Capital Region that experience a spike in cases.

“Our request now is support in the testing and increase vaccine supplies in places identified as areas of concern not just here in Metro Manila but all over the Philippines,” Robredo said in her weekly show over dzXL.

She also said that while the indigent sector in Metro Manila has started to receive COVID-19 jabs, the provinces have yet to complete the vaccination of their senior citizens.

“For example, here in Metro Manila we saw in the news that the A5 are being vaccinated already, but in the provinces they are not yet done with the A2,” she pointed out.

The indigent population is classified as A5 in the COVID-19 vaccination priority list, while senior citizens are A2.

She said her office is willing to bring its Swab Cabs, which provide free COVID-19 antigen tests, to provinces but it needs to partner with local government units.

“We have been receiving a lot of requests, but we can only do so much,” Robredo noted.

In a report yesterday, OCTA Research said Davao City remained the LGU outside the NCR that recorded the highest number of new COVID-19 cases from June 13 to 19. Davao’s hospital bed utilization rate was at 67 percent, while ICU utilization was at 95 percent.

It was followed by Bacolod and Iloilo cities with 131 and 122 new infections, respectively.

The NCR recorded 750 new cases during the period.