In a social media post, the Iloilo City Government is planning to set up its own testing lab to hasten efforts in battling the current viral outbreak. Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is eyeing the procurement of a 40-footer containment van to be equipped with the appropriate facilities. The supplier will also be the one to process for accreditation.
The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) is said to help train medical technologists.
The City Government has looked forward to having its own testing facility after the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) received an extra Php 94 million Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) funds. Moreover, the CTO noted the Php 94,641,934 which is equivalent to one-month IRA as a Bayanihan Grant to Cities and Municipalities.
Moreover, according to the Department of Budget and Management, the money shall be exclusively used for COVID-19 related Programs, Projects, and Activities (PPA) and expenses. It shall only be exclusive to the procurement of the following: equipment, reagents, and kits for testing, as well as expenses for the operation of stand-alone/mobile testing laboratory, and training of personnel in the conduct of testing, among others. (Iloilo City PIO).
