Coronavirus Lockdown: Medicine Security, Smelly Helmets, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government. 

The Pharmacy trial is slowly beginning. 3 former DBM executives have pled not guilty in connection with the allegedly overpriced procurement of personal protective equipment and surgical masks from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. during the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2025/10/03/2477131/pharmally-case-3-ex-dbm-execs-plead-not-guilty

Three former officials of the Procurement Service-Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) yesterday pleaded not guilty in connection with the allegedly overpriced procurement of personal protective equipment and surgical masks from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp. during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former PS-DBM officials Allan Raul Catalan, Dickson Panti and Gerelyn Francisco Vergara pleaded not guilty to graft during their arraignment at the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.

Former procurement director Warren Liong and Pharmally executives Mohit Dargani and Linconn Ong did not enter a plea as the anti-graft court has yet to resolve their motions for reconsideration to an earlier ruling denying their bid to dismiss the graft charges filed against them.

Former PS-DBM officer-in-charge Christopher Lloyd Lao and former supervising administrative officer Arnold Jame Dupla pleaded guilty during their arraignment in August.

The Sandiganbayan set the next pre-trial conference on Oct. 21.

The next pre-trial conference is at the end of the month. No word on when the actual trial begins. 

Another business created during the pandemic has taken off. 

https://tribune.net.ph/2025/10/03/gen-z-ceo-turns-smelly-helmets-into-fortune

Faced with poverty, outstanding bills and a pandemic, Harold Denn Burgos, also known as Harold Denn, designed and invented a vending machine that cleans helmets and expanded it into a national enterprise. 

It all began with a necessity.

“After I graduated senior high school, I didn’t study. I thought of applying for a call center job, but I didn’t go there,” he told DAILY TRIBUNE. “I was inspired to work under META — video production for monetized content. I became a breadwinner during Covid-19. But when my bills started piling up, I told myself: I need to start a business.”

Burgos, a daily commuter, was familiar with the struggle: Sweaty, odor-filled motorcycle helmets, or “amoy mandirigma.”

 “It’s true. The helmet smells bad,” he laughed. “Why is there no solution? The hairnet or shower cap is not effective. So I thought, why not have a machine to clean the helmet?”

That is how GoClean Helmet Cleaning Vendo was born.

Harold is more than just another dreamer. He began building robots in junior high and earned a medal in a robotics competition.

 “I incorporated my robotics background with the vendo system,” he explains. 

Burgos collaborated with microbiologist and current chief operating officier Karen Romero to develop a process for disinfecting helmets safely that used farming practices and Ultra violet C (UVC) sterilization. 

But creating the machine was only half of the battle. Are you about to launch it? It was a rollercoaster ride.

“I waited for an internet sensation for five days just to get my proposal approved. He rejected me,” Burgos shared. “That was my last money. So I decided to just shoot a video and post it online. When I woke up, it had millions of views.”

GoClean exploded in popularity overnight. Orders poured in. Downpayments alone totaled half a million pesos in less than a day.

In just one year, GoClean has developed into GCVM Philippines, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)-registered business with 30 technicians and a production capability of up to 60 units per day. The vendo machines are priced between P44,000 and P55,000 depending on the variant.

And Harold? He is not stopping in the Philippines. GoClean is already in talks with Ecuador, Malaysia and Indonesia. “We’re negotiating with Ecuador for more or less 100 units,” Burgos reveals. “My dream is for GoClean to go international.”

Still, the journey comes with pressure. 

“It’s a big challenge to maintain GoClean. The number one problem is rider awareness,” Burgos admitted. “Even if we’re featured on TV, if riders don’t know about it, the demand slows down. But every day, I look around, I see a problem, and I think of a solution. That’s what keeps me going.”

What makes Harold’s story different is his Gen Z mindset — resourceful, digital-first and driven by purpose. From using social media virality as his launchpad, to designing his own logos and marketing strategies, Harold embodies the (do-it-yourself) DIY spirit of his generation.

“When I have a business in mind, I make the logo first,” he smiled. “Blue,” because blue is attributed to cleanliness.”

For him, entrepreneurship is not about luxury; it is about survival, then service.

“That was my last shot. If even one person bought, at least I could pay my condo,” he said. Now, he’s running a company, employing dozens, and even reinvesting his earnings into a resort and new technologies.

At the age of 22, Burgos went from being conned, broke and disregarded, to founding a firm that may soon serve passengers all over the world. 

For him, the secret is simple.

“Look around. Check the problems. Then become the solution. Money follows.”

And for those who trusted him in the beginning? “First of all, I want to thank those who trusted me,” he said. “Maybe people saw my potential, that I can help. Their downpayment was P22,000 and in one day, I earned half a million. That trust became my foundation.”

GoClean is more than just a machine; it represents a movement. It demonstrates how Filipino youth, with tenacity and invention, can generate global answers.

“I don’t want to just sustain GoClean,” Burgos said. “My ultimate goal is that disinfected helmets and hygiene become the new normal.”

From poverty to patents, from a viral TikTok to international talks, Harold Denn is the Gen Z behind the vendo machine, demonstrating that with vision and determination, even the most unpleasant challenges can spawn million-peso solutions.

Age 22 and already amassing a small fortune. Would he have taken this risk even without the pandemic? 

Government procurement data shows a perference for construction spending over all else including health.  This includes contracts awarded during the pandemic.  

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2120061/construction-dominates-ph-procurement-as-health-stays-marginal-data-expert

Government procurement data from 2000 to 2021 reveal that construction has consistently dominated spending, while health has remained marginal, even during crises, according to an analysis of PhilGEPS records.

Dr. Rogelio Alicor Panao, INQUIRER Metrics data scientist and associate professor at the University of the Philippines, found that construction surged after 2007, capturing more than half of all contracts nearly every year, peaking at over 70 percent in 2018.

“Even in terms of procurement awards from 2000 to 2021, construction still dominates. It appears to surge after 2007 to capture more than half of all contracts nearly every year, and peaking above 70 percent in 2018,” Panao noted in his analysis.

He added that this trend intensified under the Build, Build, Build program adopted by the Duterte administration and which prioritized massive infrastructure spending as a driver of national development.

In contrast, procurement for health rarely exceeded five percent of total awards. “Even during crises — such as the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 — procurement for medicines, hospitals, and medical supplies rarely exceeded 5 percent of total awards,” Panao said.

The analysis, Panao explained, suggests that while hospitals may be constructed, operational capacity — including medicines, supplies, and equipment — has remained relatively underfunded.

“This suggests that while hospitals may be built, the operational capacity to deliver care — supplies, equipment, and medicines — is relatively underfunded,” he emphasized.

The imbalance between infrastructure and health spending, Panao noted, “raises fundamental questions about whether procurement is truly advancing citizen welfare or primarily generating projects that are politically and visually rewarding.”

The findings come at a time when debates over public spending remain heated. The government’s massive allocations for flood-control projects have been questioned following multiple Commission on Audit (COA) fraud audit reports flagging “ghost” or mismatched projects in Bulacan.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed long-standing weaknesses in the country’s health system. Despite new hospital buildings, shortages in medicines, equipment, and protective supplies were reported in many areas at the height of the crisis.

As discussions on infrastructure and health budgets continue ahead of the 2026 appropriations, the data highlights a long-term imbalance: trillions directed toward construction, while essential health procurement remains comparatively small.

New hospital buildings but "shortages in medicines, equipment, and protective supplies."  What a contradiction. The government is hoping to fix the medicine shortage by partnering with private business. 

https://mb.com.ph/2025/10/07/ph-medicine-security-gets-a-boost-on-assurances-of-enhanced-public-private-partnership

The Philippines' post-pandemic vulnerability to medicine shortages is getting targeted attention through concrete commitments from Congress, regulatory agencies, and industry leaders to strengthen domestic pharmaceutical capacity and reduce import dependence.

In a recent public forum hosted by the Philippine Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industries (PCPI) focused on the theme “Ensuring Medicine Security; Strengthening the Philippine Pharma Industry”, key stakeholders outlined specific reforms and partnerships that could reshape the country's approach to medicine security.

Congressman Ciriaco Gato, chair of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Health, spoke about a whole of government and whole of society approach to address systemic industry barriers. “We in Congress are cognizant of the numerous concerns that plague the local pharma industry. Regulatory bottlenecks, the prevalence of counterfeits, the high cost of production, reliance on and apparent bias for imports are among issues that must be addressed in the exercise of Congress’ legislative oversight powers,” Gato said.

“We at the Committee on Health and other relevant committees commit itself to reviewing executive issuances that restrict or even prohibit the local pharma industry from effectively functioning in the delivery of medicines that will satisfy the health needs of the population.”

In the same forum, DTI-Board of Investments Executive Director Corazon Dichosa presented market data highlighting both opportunity and structural imbalance. The local pharmaceutical industry is valued at US$4.5 billion with projected 4.1% annual growth until 2029, yet remains critically dependent on imports with government statistics showing only 46 manufacturers compared to 650 importers. Philippine export of medicines to other countries is virtually non-existent.

Medicine security became a pressing issue during the COVID pandemic when countries restricted exports to prioritize domestic needs. Despite this wake-up call, significant strides to promote local pharmaceutical manufacturing had been limited until these recent commitments.

For his part, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Paolo Teston framed medicine security as both a public health imperative and national resilience strategy, drawing lessons from recent global health crises.

"Medicine security is not only a public health concern but a matter of national resilience. We have learned from recent global health crises that ensuring access to safe, effective and affordable medicines are as critical as safeguarding our food supply or securing our borders," Teston emphasized.

However, Teston clarified that supply availability must be balanced with quality standards: "For the FDA, it is also about the safety, efficacy and quality of every health product that reaches the Filipino people. We will ensure that every tablet, capsule or vial that reaches the Filipino people have undergone the most rigorous scientific review and uncompromising evaluation."

Teston vowed to ease regulatory barriers without compromising safety to strengthen the competitiveness of the local pharma industry. Other FDA initiatives include digitalization, reliance mechanisms with strict regulatory authorities, and hiring of additional personnel to help reduce backlog applications.

PCPI President Dr. Lloyd Balajadia assured government officials of the private sector’s support for the reform agenda.

“Only private-public partnership can drive progress and with new leaders coming in, it is possible,” Balajadia stated, positioning industry collaboration as essential for meaningful change.

Balajadia outlined an ambitious vision connecting pharmaceutical development to broader economic diplomacy: "In the same way that Filipino nurses are driving a positive image of the Philippines abroad, the healthcare industry can likewise be an offensive tool for economic growth and diplomacy."

The PCPI president specifically highlighted mutual recognition agreements (MRAs) as strategic pathways for Philippine pharmaceutical companies to enter foreign markets. These agreements could enable streamlined regulatory approval processes across ASEAN and other regions, potentially transforming the Philippines from an import-dependent market to a regional pharmaceutical hub.

PCPI is the largest association of pharmaceutical firms composed mostly of Filipino-owned companies.

Why are there "executive issuances that restrict or even prohibit the local pharma industry from effectively functioning in the delivery of medicines that will satisfy the health needs of the population?" It's too bad it took an economically destructive pandemic for the Philippines to figure these things out.