THE CEBU provincial government has regulated the sale of medical oxygen following reports of hoarding amid the surge in Covid-19 cases.
Garcia’s Executive Order No. 36 came out after her meeting with manufacturers and dealers of medical oxygen. It also set the parameters in the sale of this medical apparatus needed by patients who are suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
“Due to the said rice of Covid-19 cases, people have been flocking to medical oxygen suppliers to buy oxygen causing the rise of the demand for the said commodity. If the sale and purchase of the medical oxygen will not be regulated, the panic buying of medical oxygen might cause a shortage of the same,” Garcia’s order reads.
“Private entities or individuals may but medical oxygen from the manufacturers and dealers upon presentation of a doctor’s prescription and will be limited only to 20-lb, tanks and up to a maximum of five tanks per entity or individual,” it added.
Garcia said trucks transporting medical oxygen are exempted from the truck ban.
She clarified that she does not intend to impede the acquisition of oxygen, especially for those who are undergoing medical treatment at home and just wanted to protect patients and their families from unscrupulous traders who are taking advantage of the health crisis.
Photos of people scrambling to get supplies of medical oxygen tanks went viral in social media. Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama called on the police and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to look into the alleged hoarding of oxygen tanks.
In a statement, Regional Directors Maria Elena Arbon of DTI and Jaime Bernadas of DOH-Central Visayas, and Food and Drug Administration Regional Field Supervisor Rica Reina Aumentado dispelled any doubts on the sufficiency and availability of medical grade oxygen in Cebu.
It said medical oxygen manufacturers in Cebu assured that on the average they can produce between 600 to 800 cylinders a day based on current cylinder holdings and labor force. “They can increase their production capacity to 200% in the event of a surge in critical Covid cases that will require supply of medical oxygen,” the statement said.
Aumentado also said there are eight companies in Region 7 that are registered with FDA as manufacturers of medical grade oxygen.
Arbon said there is no need to panic, adding, “There is more than enough oxygen supply as medical grace oxygen producers are maintaining a range of 4 to 14 days inventory levels during normal times and not counting the unused capacity,” she said, adding, “if fear takes over our action, we would succumb to panic buying. The resultant effects would be artificial shortage and hoarding.”
She said hoarding is punishable with a penalty of imprisonment for a period of not less than 5 years nor more than 15 years, and a fine of not less than P5,000 and not more than P2 million.
Bernadas cautioned the public on the “danger of home use of medical oxygen without supervision of doctors and the storage hazards”.
Representatives of oxygen manufacturers and dealers - Mandaue Compressed Gases Corp., Superior Gas and Equipment Co., Inc. and Linde Philippines - who attended the meeting, assured Garcia of an adequate supply of the medical oxygen in the province which is now under General Community Quarantine with “heightened restrictions”.
Mass vaccination also continues in Cebu and Garcia said the inoculation against Covid-19 should be “incentivized, not punitive.”
“As far as vaccination is concerned, let it be incentivized rather than punitive. What do I mean? Parehas ana kung vaccinated na ka, as an incentive di naka kinahanglan mag-RT-PCR. I-shorten na imong stay sa quarantine and all of these other kana ba’ng mga concessions ba, kung vaccinated na ka. Dili nga og dili ka vaccinated di ka kasud nuon og mga lugar. That’s punitive,” she said.
“And you know very well, it’s everyone’s constitutional right to decide for his or her own body. It’s a choice and I will defend that choice. Ako, I will soon be vaccinated, too. Naghuwat lang sila’s proper nga kuan…But when I get vaccinated, I will still speak up for the unvaccinated kung mo-choose sila nga di sila magpa-vaccinate. We should not punish them. Let it be an incentive for the vaccinated. There’s a big difference,” she added. (John Rey Saavedra, Carlo Lorenciana, Cebu Examiner)
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