MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) clarified on Friday that the 337 donated respirators to government and private hospitals were already delivered, with only 63 respirators on standby and ready to be deployed to regions experiencing a surge of COVID-19 cases.
DOH issued the clarification after House lawmakers hit the agency for supposedly failing to distribute the respirators donated by some firms from the tobacco industry.
“The DOH further clarified that it has received about 400 respirators from the Temasek Foundation. Out of this number, 30 units were sponsored by a private company associated with the tobacco industry,” read a statement from the agency.
“T…
Keep on reading: DOH clarifies: Over 300 donated respirators already delivered to hospitals