“We stand solidly behind Chairman Gordon” – PRC sa gitna ng pagbabatikos ni Duterte

Sa gitna ng mga batikos ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, sinuportahan ng Philippine Red Cross Board of Governors ang kanilang chairman na si Senator Richard Gordon.

Sa isang pahayag, 20 mga governor ang nagpahayg ng “staunch and unequivocal support” kay Gordon, at sinabing isa siyang unsalaried volunteer at pinangunahan niya ang PRC sa “responsive and modernized institution.”

“We stand solidly behind Chairman Gordon as he leads the valiant efforts of the PRC to serve millions of suffering Filipino people, especially during this protracted pandemic,” saad ng PRC board said batay sa ulat ng GMA News Online.

“We stepped up”

Nabanggit rin nila ang initiative ng PRC sa panahon ng pandemiya, tulad ng pag-eestablish ng mga molecular laboratories para sa RT-PCR testing.

“It was not long before the PRC was doing the bulk of the country’s testing, at its height covering 45% of the requirement, picking up the slack for the government. Today, we are the largest testing provider in the country and have conducted over 4 million tests,” base sa pahayag.

Pinaliwanag din ng PRC board na ang kanilang desisyon na pansamantalang i-suspend ang testing para sa COVID-19 nang nagkaroon ng utang ng halos P800 million ang PhilHealth ay “fiscal responsibility” lamang.

“To begin with, the COVID-19 testing should be the job of the government. We merely stepped up when there was a need that the government could not address,” saad nila.

“Such irresponsibility would also cause us to lose credibility with and confidence of our donors and jeopardize our ability to raise funds and continue to serve our people through our other services, such as blood banks, a dialysis center, disaster management, ambulances, safety, sanitation, and housing,” dagdag nila.

Sa kasalukuyan, ang PRC ay nag-seserve ng 50% ng national blood requirement, may pag-aari ng 170 ambulances at nakapagbigay ng 151,000 na bahay para sa mga disaster victims.

Pinaliwanag rin ng board na ang PRC ay “voluntary, independent, and autonomous, non-governmental organization,” batay sa Republic Act 10072.

Ayon sa mga governors na ang organization ay hindi tumatanggap ng appropriations mula sa gobyerno. Tinatanggap lamang nila ang donasyon mula sa mga private individuals, corporations at mga partners ng Red Cross at Red cross societies.

Kaya naman, ang kanilang pondo ay hindi subject sa liquidation ng Commission on Audit.

Nabanggit rin nila na may mga ilang ahensiya ng gobyerno, tulad ng DOH, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, at Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ang nakapag-donate sa PRC, pero, “small part” lamang ito ng pondo ng PRC, at ito’y wastong na-liquidate.

“Being that the PRC is not a government agency, it is not subject to audit by the Commission on Audit. The PRC audit is conducted by a private international accounting firm which is also the auditor of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which receives a copy of the independent audit report,” saad nila.

(By HANA BORDEY, GMA News)