Senator Raffy Tulfo has filed a resolution seeking a Senate inquiry into the alleged billions of pesos worth of expired, nearly expired, and unutilized medicines and vaccines procured by the Department of Health (DOH) from 2018 to 2024.
Tulfo, through Senate Resolution No. 403, cited findings by the Commission on Audit (COA) that flagged recurring wastage in the DOH’s procurement and inventory system.
He stressed the need to hold accountable officials responsible for mismanagement and to strengthen medicine distribution to prevent further losses.
The senator lamented that while millions of Filipinos struggle to access free supplements and maintenance medicines in barangay health centers and public hospitals, large volumes of government-procured medicines are left to expire in warehouses.
“Any personality complicit in the wastage of medicines must be charged, dismissed, and punished with imprisonment,” Tulfo said.
COA reports revealed staggering losses: ₱18.5 billion worth of medicines wasted from 2015 to 2018, ₱2.2 billion in 2019, ₱95 million in 2020, ₱85 million in 2021, ₱7.4 billion in 2022, ₱11.18 billion in 2023, and ₱134 million in 2024.
The 2024 audit further noted ₱34.8 million worth of drugs had already expired, while ₱99.5 million were nearing expiration due to poor inventory management.
Tulfo said the probe aims to identify responsible officials, impose sanctions, and institutionalize reforms in the DOH’s procurement and distribution systems.
He underscored that medicines remain among the largest out-of-pocket healthcare costs for Filipino families, making accountability and systemic reform urgent. (Hannah Torregoza)
