West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad), in partnership with De los Santos Medical Center (DLSMC), is constructing a P15-million COVID-19 testing and laboratory center to boost the country’s testing capacity and help contain the spread of COVID-19. To be built within the DLSMC complex in Quezon City, the new facility will conduct and process Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) tests for suspected COVID-19 patients. RT-PCR is the standard testing procedure recommended by the World Health Organization in detecting COVID-19. “We are happy with the decision we made,†said Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez on selecting DLSMC as the beneficiary of the donation. “From our own experience, DLSMC has been very efficient and flexible in servicing the needs of Maynilad. This laboratory will be a testament to our partnership and is also our small contribution to our country and to the MPIC group in its quest for doubling the testing capacity in the country.†Once operational in August 2020, the Maynilad-DLSMC RT-PCR Testing Center will have the capacity to test and process swab samples from about 200 patients daily. As of May 21, 2020, there are only 30 RT-PCR laboratories in the country licensed by the Department of Health. With the construction of the Maynilad-DLSMC RT-PCR Testing Center, the continuous processing and release of COVID-19 confirmatory test results can be facilitated. Maynilad continues to implement several relief activities for frontliners and urban poor communities during the pandemic, including the distribution of hygiene kits, sanitation tents and drinking water, as well as the provision of free water supply for several quarantine facilities in Metro Manila. Both Maynilad and DLSMC are companies under Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), with DLSMC as one of 16 hospitals under Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings, Inc. PHOTO CAPTION: Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez (right) and De los Santos Medical Center (DLSMC) President and CEO Raul C. Pagdanganan during the e-signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to build a COVID-19 testing and laboratory center at the DLSMC to boost the country’s testing capacity and help contain the spread of COVID-19.