Maynilad, De Los Santos Medical Center to build P15M Covid-19 lab in QC

Makati, Philippines, 5th June 2020 – A P15 million facility featuring the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) procedure, the gold standard testing method to detect the Covid-19 virus, will soon rise at the Quezon City grounds of the De Los Santos Medical Center (DLSMC).

Maynilad Water Services, Inc., the water and sewerage concessionaire for the West Zone of Metro Manila, recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the multi-specialty medical center along E. Rodriguez Sr. Boulevard, to fund the construction of the facility.

The MOA, with Deed of Donation, was signed by Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez and DLSMC President and CEO Raul C. Pagdanganan.

Maynilad is a company under infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC). DLSMC is a member hospital of the Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, Inc. (MPHHI), MPIC’s medical arm. 

Expanding capacity to fight COVID-19

The Maynilad-DLSMC testing center will boost the capacity of the thirty existing RT-PCR laboratories and five GeneXpert facilities licensed to operate by the Department of Health (DOH), to speed up the processing and release of Covid-19 confirmatory test results in the country.

Alongside front-line health workers like doctors and nurses, laboratory workers in the Philippines are currently grappling with the unprecedented scale of testing for the highly contagious coronavirus, as piling samples overwhelm short-handed labs.

The Maynilad-DLSMC testing center would help ease the load off other laboratories by ensuring that the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction tests are further expanded for diagnostic purposes. This would give local lab workers much needed breathing space to run the RT-PCR tests, that have so far hindered mass testing efforts in the country.

RT-PCR detects virus early

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the real time RT-PCR as the legitimate testing procedure for detecting Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19, due to its sensitivity to detect the early presence of the virus. This enables immediate enforcement of precautionary measures that would curb further transmission in the populace.

Under the MOA, Maynilad will donate P15 million for the construction of the RT-PCR testing laboratory. DLSMC will build and operate the facility within its hospital complex in Quezon City.

The Maynilad-DLSMC RT-PCR testing center is estimated to be completed by November this year. 

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For further information, please contact:

Melody del Rosario

VP – Public Relations and Corporate Communications, MPIC

09189635639