MARCH 27, 2020
A sewer shows the PPE sample design made of an upper gown to the knees with a garterized hoodie, pants that already have foot coverings for whole body protection and ease of use and strings/ties on the legs and body for a proper fit on any body size. The body covering was sewn by workers under Joey Jovellano, a teacher and customized garments-maker based in Teresa, Rizal who was tapped Project PPE-PH. The online project was recently begun by Karl Manalang, a marketing manager for a travel agency who found Jovellano through an online group. Manalang said he started this to help address the problem with dwindling supplies of Personal Pretective Equipment or PPEs for frontliners in hospitals due to the increasing cases of CoVID-19. His brother, a doctor working at Dr. Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital in Caloocan City, told him that this was already happening there. With help and input from his family (parents are both retired doctors), relatives and friends, Manalang sought donations for funds to buy fabrics (40 GSM and the thicker 90 GSM), threads and to pay for the labor of the sewers. He said this first batch of around 100-150 pairs of PPEs will be provided for free to public hospitals like the Lung Center of the Philippines, UP-PGH, DJ Rodriguez MH and Philippine Heart Center.
INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON
MANILA, Philippines — With the expiration of the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, importation of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies lost its tax-exempt privilege.
In an advisory on Saturday, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said that since Republic Act No. 11469, expired last June 24, the guidelines on tax and duty exemption for imported health equipment and supplies that were issued to implement the Bayanihan law also lapsed.
“Following the expiration of the said guidelines, the public is advised to pay the required duties and taxes for imports of PPE and other medical emergency supplies beginning June 25,” the BOC said.
When the Bayanihan law was still in effect, imported PPE, medical supplies and test kits were exempted from paying import duties, 12-percent value-added tax, excise taxes and other fees.
To fast-track their release from ports, the Bureau of Internal Revenue had also allowed exemption of importations for COVID-19 response from the required authority to release imported goods.
During the period March 9 to June 26, the BOC released 13,534 PPE shipments under flexible arrangements amid a public health emergency.
