A truck-load of violative health products in boxes are unloaded during the Food and Drug Administration’s disposal operation at its Biñan Disposal Facility in Laguna. (Photo courtesy of the FDA)
It’s the Department of Health (DOH)’s turn to be accused of corruption as Senator Rafael ‘Raffy’ charged the agency of deliberately buying medicine close to its expiration date from favored suppliers in order to get ‘kickbacks’.
The allegation was disclosed by the former broadcaster-turned-legislator during deliberations on the agency’s proposed budget for 2027 budget.
Tulfo confronted newly appointed health secretary Edwin Mercado over the possible scheme that has also led to the expiration of billions of pesos worth of medicine supplies in government warehouses.
Incredulous over this repeat of wastage of medicine and funds, the senator cited that in 2023, at least ₱11 billion worth of expired drugs were “buried underground” so no scandal would be unearthed.
“Dapat d’yan may makulong. Dapat diyan may mapugutan ng ulo eh. Napaka-iskandalo ng amount na ‘yan,” Tulfo remarked to stress his dismay.
Tulfo initially called out the attending DoH officials over whether it can “guarantee” that the medicine it procures for 2027 would not expire before use and then followed through to ask if there is a modus to get near-expired medicine in the procurement process.
“Ayon sa aking source, sinasadyang bibilhin about to be expired kasi mas mura at galing sa mga pinapaboran na mga supplier,” he noted.
“Just imagine how many millions of kickbacks in the past years for the procurement officer,” he added.
Mercado, who assumed his post as health chief less than a month ago, confirmed that one of the DoH undersecretaries who recently resigned handled the questionable procurement.
He then went on to identify the undersecretary as a certain Randy Escolango, who handled the department’s financial and supply chain management services.
Escolango resigned last August 15 while facing a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB). DoH employees filed the complaint in June accusing him with former health chief Teodoro ‘Ted’ Herbosa of a “self-policing conflict of interest.”
State auditors have found expired or expiring DOH medicine worth ₱18.5 billion from 2015 to 2018, ₱2.2 billion in 2019, ₱95.15 million in 2020, ₱85 million in 2021, ₱7.4 billion in 2022, and ₱11.18 billion in 2023—the last figure including more than 7 million vials of expired Covid-19 vaccines and 24,539 bags of donated dialysis solution.
In 2024, the Commission on Audit (CoA) found ₱34.8 million of drugs already expired, with a further ₱99.5 million nearing expiration.