Malacañang renewed on Friday its call to Philippine Red Cross to resume its testing services for the coronavirus disease.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte has given his commitment that the government will pay its obligation to the PRC.

He said the Department of Justice has given its legal opinion that the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. has to provide partial payment to the PRC while the memorandum of agreement between PhilHealth and the PRC is undergoing review.

"Having said this, we call on the PRC to resume its testing services. We likewise ask the public, including our stranded overseas Filipino workers and overseas Filipinos, for their patience and understanding as we resolve this matter at the soonest possible time," he said.

Roque said the Palace has asked government and private laboratories to assist the Overseas Filipino Workers and Overseas Filipinos in their RT-PCR testing.

Red Cross last week has stopped its services after PhilHealth failed to pay its debt, which ballooned to P930 million.

Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of PRC, however, reportedly said that PhilHealth should pay in full its debt before resuming COVID-19 tests. Celerina Monte/DMS