Audit findings showing billions of pesos in expired medicines, vaccines, and medical supplies lost under the Department of Health have prompted a senator to file a resolution calling for a congressional inquiry.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who filed the resolution, cited complaints he has regularly received through his radio program as part of his motivation for pursuing the probe. Patients, he said, frequently report being turned away from public hospitals and barangay health centers due to unavailable medicines — a stark contrast to the scale of waste documented by state auditors.
The Commission on Audit has tracked the losses across multiple years: ₱18.5 billion 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. COA attributed the recurring losses primarily to overstocking.
Tulfo framed the resolution as a measure to hold accountable the officials responsible for what he described as the “mismanagement” of medicine stocks. He also raised the need to overhaul procurement, inventory management, and distribution systems within the health department to prevent further losses.
The proposed Senate inquiry would examine the COA findings in detail, with accountability for responsible officials as a central objective.
