AGRI Party-list Representative Manoy Wilbert Lee reiterated his call to investigate the P11 billion worth of expired medicines and vaccines in Department of Health (DOH) warehouses and health facilities flagged by the Commission on Audit (COA).
The Bicolano lawmaker renewed his call after Senator Joel Villanueva recently filed Senate Resolution No. 1326 to probe the said issue.
“Buo ang suporta natin sa panawagang ito ni Senator Joel Villanueva para imbestigahan din sa Senado ang malaking kapabayaan at malaking kasalanan na ito sa taumbayan,” Lee said.
“Such negligence is both unacceptable and unlawful. Pondo ito na nasayang at serbisyong ipinagkait para sa kalusugan ng mga Pilipino,” he added.
Lee filed House Resolution No. 2117 on December 2024, stressing that the expiration of these essential drugs, medicines and vaccines, which the DOH allowed to deteriorate without proper utilization or timely action, constitutes a clear dereliction of duty and a violation of their mandate.
According to the COA audit report for the year 2023, P11.18 billion worth of drugs, medicines and medical supplies, including over 7 million vials of COVID-19 vaccines that were unused, expired in DOH warehouses and health facilities. Among the reasons cited for such wastage are inadequate procurement planning and poor distribution and monitoring systems.
AGRI Party-list, which is running for reelection in the 2025 National and Local Elections underscored the importance of probing this issue to hold the involved officials and personnel accountable, identify underlying systemic issues, and ensure that public health resources are utilized efficiently, properly accounted for, and distributed in a timely and effective manner.
It also called on the DOH anew to submit a comprehensive report to Congress detailing the status of all expired supplies, including COVID-19 vaccines, and the steps taken to address the situation.
It can be recalled that during the last House Plenary Deliberations on the DOH Budget last September, Lee inquired about the lack of medicines in public hospitals.
“Mayroong bilyon-bilyong pondo para sa mga gamot pero bakit kinakailangan pang bumili ng mga kababayan natin sa labas ng ospital? Bakit kailangan pa nilang gumastos para sa gamot kahit na sa charity wards sila naka-admit? Isa pa ito sa dumaragdag sa out-of-pocket expenses nila; dagdag isipin ng may sakit; dagdag pasanin ng pamilya,” AGRI Party-list earlier pointed out.
AGRI Party-list has been pushing for free medicines and healthcare services. Through Lee’s leadership, AGRI Party-list was the first to expose that the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) had billions of available funds in September 2023, which then led to the implementation of PhilHealth’s increased benefits after over a decade that it was not updated and no longer responsive to the hospitalization cost of the beneficiaries.
“Hindi magiging posible ang ipinaglalaban nating libreng gamot at libreng pagpapagamot kung magpapatuloy ang kapalpakang ito sa gobyerno. Dapat may managot sa mga kapabayaan na nagkakait ng mga serbisyong pangkalusugan para sa mga Pilipino. Buhay at kabuhayan ang nakataya dito,” AGRI Party-list stated
