House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin said the Department of Health leadership under the past administration must be held liable for the expired vaccines that were not utilized, which cost billions of pesos.
Garin, a former Health secretary, made the statement after the Commission on Audit released a report that over P11 billion worth of drugs, medicines, and medical supplies expired without being utilized.
The expired supplies included some 7,035,161 vials of COVID-19 vaccines.
“The audit reports that were seen and flagged by the COA are due to the weak leadership and management of the Department of Health during the previous administration,” Garin said.
To ensure that no vaccines and medicines would be wasted, she said DOH program directors should monitor the usage of these medical-related items and ensure these are properly utilized.
“Whoever is the program director, after purchasing vaccines and medicines, it is your obligation to use them immediately and monitor them,” she said.
COA auditors said the wastage was a result of “inadequate procurement planning and poor distribution and monitoring systems.”
The bulk of the expired vials or 5.4 million were procured by the DOH Central Office, while 1.5 million were donations to various offices or centers for health development.