Health chief Dr. Teodoro Herbosa.
Brushing aside recent initiatives in upgrading health services and speedy response to disaster-stricken areas due to recent storms, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano lashed at health secretary Dr. Teodoro ‘Ted’ Herbosa for the latter’s ‘incompetence’ over the late delivery of vaccines and other issues.
During Wednesday’s Senate plenary deliberation on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Health (DoH), the Senate Minority Floor Leader challenged Herbosa to guarantee that there will be no more delays in 2026 or else he should resign and be replaced by somebody more eligible as health chief.
“All around the world, ang flu vaccine, lalo sa matatanda, ay ibinibigay ng March at April. Even assuming na nanggagaling pa sa Western countries yung flu vaccines ng March or April, sabihin mo nang dumating dito ng August or July, ngayon po, November 26, wala pa ho silang vaccine for flu. And it expires on December 31,” Cayetano pointed out even as he also noted that routine vaccines have also been delayed or lacking.
“Can you guarantee us in 2026 there will be no delays? Because if not, let’s get a secretary who can. Cambodia at saka Laos, hindi nali-late iyong bakuna. Pilipinas nali-late iyong bakuna,” he asserted with emphasis.
Senate President Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto III interjected, though, that local government units (LGUs) can buy vaccines but at a price ten times more than what DOH pays. To this, however, Cayetano replied that LGUs are not allowed to buy certain vaccines.
Amid the hullabaloo, the health department’s budget sponsor, Senator Pilar Juliana ‘Pia’ Cayetano, claimed there was a problem with procurement and bidders as she stressed that “the secretary admits they’ve had a major problem in the purchase of the vaccines (and) in fact, he has fired their procurement officer.”
But as to whether the DoH can handle (the problem) better next year, the older Cayetano enthused that “she (doesn’t) know yet if there’s an answer (to the concern.”
“The secretary admits that given the billions of pesos involved here, there is so much competition among the bidders. And this representation recognizes that that is an issue, but this representation also recognizes that if there is a will, there’s a way,” she continued.
Senator Raffy Tulfo likewise grilled the DoH about medicine that end up expiring when various villages are in need.
“Ibig sabihin DOH ay bumibili ng mga medicines na very important sa mga senior citizens, sa mga mahihirap na kababayan by the billions of pesos every single year para ipa-expire lang sa mga bodega?” Tulfo queried.
Cayetano answered that medicines in warehouses are for calamities and that it is not DOH’s mandate to give these to LGUs so she believes the problem is policy: “We have devolved many functions and one devolved function is health. And so the LGUs are in charge of procuring those medicines. But DOH has a stock that would be made available only in times of emergencies and calamities.”