President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Department of Health to distribute ‘idle’ and ‘near-expiry’ medicine worth P2.4 billion so the public may benefit from them, Malacañang announced.
“Ang mandato po ng Presidente sa DOH, lalong-lalo na iyong mag-e-expire na, paki-distribute na po nang hindi masayang at iyong mga overstock at slow-moving naman po, ilabas na po natin sa ating mgawarehouse nang magamit ng ating taumbayan,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said during a virtual briefing.
[The President’s mandate to the DOH is to distribute [medicines] under their possession, particularly those nearing expiry, so they won’t go to waste. For overstock and slow-moving ones, let’s get them out of our warehouses so the public may use them.]
According to DOH Spokesperson and Undersecretary Ma. Rosario Vergeire the health department only has ₱30 million of expired medicine.
However, the DOH also has ₱1.2 billion of overstock or slow-moving or idle medicine and another ₱1.2 billion nearing expiry.
This was flagged by the Commission on Audit in its 2019 report on the DOH. The report stated that the agency had ₱2.2 billion worth of drugs, medicine and medical and dental supplies which are either expired, overstocked/slow-moving, or nearly expired.
State auditors attributed this to poor procurement planning, along with inefficient and uncoordinated transfer or distribution.
Among the Commission’s recommendations to the agency was to expedite the distribution of the nearly expired medicines, which cost ₱1.024 billion, and slow-moving inventories worth ₱1.138 billion, to health centers and hospitals in need of drugs.
