When Metro Manila became the hot spot for COVID-19 infections in the country, local chief executives were caught flat-footed with their limited resources.
But with sheer determination and political will, the Marikina City government under the leadership of Mayor Marcelino Teodoro rose to the challenge, and proved that instead of relying mainly on national government, solutions can be started in one’s own backyard.
This Teodoro proved by forging partnerships between the local government unit (LGU) and several government agencies as well as private health organizations in building the Marikina Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory (MMDL) two years ago.
First LGU-owned
The first LGU-owned COVID-19 testing facility in the country was completed just a month after the confirmed outbreak of COVID-19 in the Philippines, when testing facilities were too few and often overbooked. Housed in a two-story laboratory located at Bayan-Bayanan, Barangay Concepcion Uno, the facility received accreditation from the Department of Health (DOH) on April 30, 2020.
It has since provided 125,782 free tests to residents of Marikina and nearby towns, according to Girlie de Guzman, chief medical technologist of the laboratory.
At the height of the pandemic, the MMDL was able to process 400 to 500 RT-PCR tests a day, with results ready in two hours unlike in other facilities where it took 24 to 72 hours to get results.
Even before the number of COVID-19 cases in the country swelled in 2020, the Marikina local government had already expressed its intention to have its own molecular laboratory. To kick-start its operations, the city government procured test kits developed by local scientists from the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health and Manila HealthTek Inc.
As De Guzman pointed out, free, fast, accessible and reliable testing was crucial at the early stage of the pandemic because there “were only a limited number of capable and accredited testing laboratories.”
She added: “With the influx of COVID-19 cases and lack of access to proper and accurate testing, the project was established to serve the citizens of Marikina [by] providing access to free and timely mass testing of SARS-CoV-2.”
Requests from outside
The MMDL is now headed by a pathologist who oversees and approves the laboratory’s operations. It also has seven registered medical technologists who have undergone intensive training on the molecular diagnosis of the COVID-19 virus, three laboratory aides and one administrative aide.
While promoting the welfare of the city’s residents has been MMDL’s top priority, De Guzman said the laboratory has also catered to requests from government and nongovernment agencies, as well as various establishments and businesses, for timely and efficient PCR results.
Even at the tail end of the health crisis, the work never stops for the MMDL. Said De Guzman: “As we move forward from the pandemic, the laboratory is open and willing to be trained and educated to be able to extend its services beyond COVID-19 testing to include other diseases that can be tested through molecular means.” INQ
TRAINED PERSONNEL The lab is currently headed by a pathologist, with seven medical technologists, three laboratory assistants and an administrative staff member. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
