Lacson proposes nationwide rollout of free COVID testing
PARTIDO Reporma chairman and standard bearer Panfilo “Ping” Lacson urged the national government to engage the private sector and local government units (LGUs) in the possible nationwide rollout of free COVID-19 testing program amid the spate of Omicron infections.
“Mahal ang testing eh. Ang pag-swab test nasa mga P3,700 , kung private setting ha. Kung pila, siyempre, mas mura-mura. Pero hindi naman lahat ng kababayan natin may panggastos na ganoon,” Lacson said.
“Ako suggestion ko, involve uli natin ‘yung mga local government unit at saka ‘yung pribadong sektor. Kasi willing naman ang private sector na tumulong dito e. Hindi ko lang alam kung bakit parang sa halip na i-encourage natin minsan, ‘di ba, pinapahirapan pa natin?” he added.
Lacson has been pushing for a free COVID-19 testing program, especially while the nation is still grappling with the ongoing pandemic and its recurring and emerging variants, saying this should be part of the public services offered by the government.
“Dapat libre talaga ‘yung testing, of course, lalo na doon sa mga pangkaraniwang empleyado. Kung kaya naman magbayad, e ‘di pagbayarin. Pero ‘yung alam natin na pangkaraniwan, mga pang-araw-araw na sumusuweldo, offer-an na lang natin ng libre,” he said.
Lacson, meanwhile, reiterated his appeal to all diagnostic testing centers and laboratories conducting and processing these COVID-19 tests to keep their clients informed and updated about the status and results of their samples.
This is to prevent other people from going through the unnecessary stress of waiting for their test results like what happened to him and his wife. They were promised a 12-hour processing time when they first ordered a home service RT-PCR test, but they were made to wait for two days instead.
“Kasi obligasyon ‘yun eh. Para kang pumirma ng contract, nagbayad ka eh. Sa akin naman, okay lang na ma-delay, na-ano ko rin ‘yon eh, naintindihan ko rin na pwedeng na-overwhelm sila, ‘yung backlog nila masyadong malaki,” Lacson explained.
“Sa akin naman ‘yun bang halimbawang tumawag man lang. Nandoon naman ‘yung aking telephone number, mobile number. Tawagan man lang na ‘ay pasensya na ho kayo kasi medyo overwhelmed kami ngayon pero asahan ninyo na mamadaliin namin ito’ o ilalabas ‘yung resulta,” he added.
