Navy ship off to China to pick up PPE sets bought by PH for P1.8B to fight COVID-19

BRP Bacolod City (LS-550) sets sail for Xiamen, China on Tuesday (April 21, 2020) to get a part of the 1 million personal protective equipment sets that the Philippine government had bought for P1.8 billion.

MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Navy’s logistics vessel BRP Bacolod City (LS-550) set sail for Xiamen, China to pick up personal protective equipment (PPE) sets bought by the Philippine government.

The ship, skippered by Commander Rogelio Lachica, left the Crabba Pier in Sangley Point, Cavite on Tuesday (April 21) morning for Zhangzou Port in Xiamen. A single voyage takes 3 to 4 days and the ship is expected to return after one week.

The Navy will pick up 23,385 boxes of PPE, said Navy public affairs officer Lt. Cmdr. Ma. Christina Roxas. Sources said this is equivalent to around 250,000 PPE sets.

The Philippine government had purchased 1 million PPE sets worth P1.8 billion from China to support health workers and those on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19.

Each PPE set consists of an N95 mask, goggles, coveralls, head cover, shoe cover, surgical mask, gloves and surgical gown.

One Philippine Air Force C-130 plane has been flying to China almost regularly to bring home the medical supplies.

But Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said the DOH was also looking for bigger planes to haul the medical gear because a C-130 plane can carry only a maximum of 15,000 PPE sets.

Aside from C-130 flights, the Philippine government has also commissioned flights to help pick up the PPE sets from China.

Edited by TSB