The Department of Science and Technology is in search of people willing to design ventilators and respirators to be used in the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
In a statement, the DOST called on prospective designers to submit concept proposals—including preliminary work done, description of the design, work plan, and deliverables—along with a letter of intent from the medical expert or hospital and the budget.
DOST executive director Enrico Paringit, who leads the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), said prototypes must be made from medical-grade materials and components should have an assist control (AC) mode, tidal volume, back-up or respiratory rate (RR), inspiration: expiration (I:E) ratio, fraction of inspired oxygen, alarms, and a humidifier.
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Proponents must have partnered with medical experts, secured an ethics clearance from an institution capable of conducting clinical trials, and identified industry partners with a license to operate from the Food and Drugs Administration.
"Ventilators are vital in ensuring that our patients, especially those confined in the ICU, are given the maximum care and support they need to recover," said PCHRD executive director Jaime Montoya.
"Aside from addressing the need to secure more ventilator units, we also have to make sure that the equipment we produce or procure are reliable and efficient," he added.
Proposals should be sent through DOST e-mail at pcieerd@pcieerd.dost.gov.ph on or before April 28, 2020.
Prototypes that pass industrial standards will have the backing of the PCHRD for the clinical trials and other clinical acceptance protocols.
Meanwhile, the Commission on Audit has issued a directive temporarily relaxing its rules on the inventory of donated goods and funds to speed their distribution to those affected by COVID-19.
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Under COA Circular No. 2020-009, the sorting, recording and inventory of donated relief goods is “put on hold during the quarantine.”
Only the remaining balance at the end of the quarantine period will be costed and recorded in the books, the agency said.
Stressing “difficult times” besetting the country due to COVID-19, COA said it saw the need to back the government in its efforts to provide basic necessities to people under the enhanced community quarantine and medical supplies to health care workers and the other frontliners.
It said, however, that the directive does not disregard basic controls to ensure that the donations are properly accounted for.
Subject only to the directions of the Office of the President, all agencies may now transfer responsibility over relief distribution to the local government units based on a validated list of affected families.
“The goods need not be released by the agency directly to the intended beneficiaries, but it may be done through the LGUs, particularly if the concerned agencies lack the resources or facilities to do so,” the COA circular read.
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Agencies accepting donations are encouraged to adopt an electronic tracking platform to facilitate recording, monitoring, and utilization of donations, whether in cash or in-kind, on the condition that the chosen platform should be able to generate an audit trail on the processing of transactions.
In lieu of traditional official receipts, COA is allowing the use of electronic receipts or mere recording of proof of receipt for cash donations as long as the date, nature, and amount of the donation is recorded as well as the name of the donor and a reference number, if applicable.
“For donations made directly to the recipient agency’s bank account, the credit memo or bank statement shall serve as proof of receipt,” the commission said.
Also on Monday, the Bureau of Immigration said it will conduct massive rapid anti-body testing for all its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente made the statement after the bureau received a donation of 500 sets of COVID-19 rapid test kits from China.
“We are grateful to everyone for supporting our efforts to protect our employees from this virus,” Morente said, adding that BI personnel exposed to the virus need to undergo the tests, being some of the most at risk of getting infected by the virus.
“There are more than 400 immigration officers currently assigned and performing frontline duties at the NAIA,” he said.