DOH: Most overstocked, nearly expired meds distributed already
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health said Wednesday that some of the medicines and other supplies in its inventory flagged by state auditors in a report had been distributed already.
DOH said this as a response to the report of the Commission on Audit said that the agency had some P2.2 billion worth of expired, overstocked or nearly expired medicines as well as medical and dental supplies.
In a release, the department said the report of state auditors was “taken out of context.” It explained that the annual audit report only covers the period of January to December 2019.
“So far, we were able to distribute all near-expiring medicines amounting to more than P1 billion,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing, noting the agency completed the distribution from January to August of 2020.
DOH also said that 815 million of the P1.1 billion worth of idle commodities had already been distributed between January and August. The distribution of the remaining P322 million worth of items with expiry dates ranging from 2021 to 2023 is still underway.
The department also said the P166,230 worth of expired items are 840 dental kits remaining from the 63,250 kits procured. The rest had already been distributed.
Only the fluoride toothpaste had expiry dates, while kiddie toothbrushes and germicidal soap were usable and were handed out already.
“The DOH acknowledged the issues flagged by the commission and recognized its vital role in ensuring that government resources are properly allocated and utilized especially during this time of COVID-19,” it said.
To address problems in distributions, Vergeire said the department had created a logistics and warehousing unit.”
COA, in its report, urged DOH to review procurement contracts, exercise prudence in use of government resources and implement timeline on distribution and transfer of inventories. — Gaea Katreena Cabico
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