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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Medicines rotting in warehouses? That's a no-no under Lacson-Sotto admin

Medicines rotting in warehouses? That's a no-no under Lacson-Sotto admin

Published Apr 1, 2022 08:56 am

Presidential candidate Panfilo "Ping" Lacson said he would find ways to bring state-procured prescription and maintenance medicines to rural health units (RHUs) in far-flung areas in order to keep them from rotting in government warehouses.

Lacson gave this commitment to residents of Zamboanga City, which he and running mate Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III visited last Wednesday, along with senatorial candidates Dr. Minguita Padilla and former Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel ’Manny’ Piñol.

One of their town hall forum participants raised concerns over the lack of medicines in several barangays due to supply issues. These include medicines intended for senior citizens.

This prompted Lacson to recall his past complaints against the Department of Health (DOH) because of some irregularities.

‘’The Senate President and I have been searching for too long where the expired medicines were buried that they did not get to the barangays... Why are they procuring expiring drugs? Because they’re cheap. But in the budget, they are supposed to buy drugs that have long expiration dates,’’ he said.

Reforming the DOH is part of the Lacson-Sotto tandem’s plans for the public health sector, which will be anchored on the full and proper implementation of Republic Act (RA) 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act.

“Magkano ang kailangan para sa high-cost ng Universal Health Care Act? P257 billion (How much is needed for the high-cost phase of the Universal Health Care Act? P257 billion). Hindi napopondohan... Kung kami ang mag-i-implement, kasi kami ang nagpasa ng batas... Ma-a-appreciate namin na dapat i-implementa (But it’s not being funded... If we are going to implement it, because we were the ones who passed the law, we will appreciate the fact that it has to be implemented),’’ Lacson explained.

Career ophthalmologist and seasoned public health advocate Dr. Padilla had similar aspirations.

Padilla said that if she is elected as member of the Senate on May 9, 2022, she would keep her eyes peeled on this issue, especially since the Commission on Audit (COA) has been flagging it every year.

She blamed the problem on the disorganized supply chain management system of DOH, which the agency failed to address.

Padilla said this is the reason the department would rather let the medicines expire instead of bringing them to their intended recipients.

“Bakit ang daming nabubulok sa warehouse pero walang nakakaabot sa barangay? E dapat ‘yung universal healthcare libre ang maintenance medicine sa barangay... (How come a lot of medicines are rotting in warehouses and they don’t reach the barangays when, under universal healthcare, it should be distributed for free?) Kasi hindi pa inaasikaso ng DOH ‘yung tinatawag na supply chain management. Ilang beses nang sinasabi sa kanila. Simple lang—imbentaryo (It's because the DOH is not addressing its supply chain management issues. It has been brought to its attention countless times. The solution is simple—inventory),’’ said Padilla.

Should Lacson get voted into office as the next president, such problems would be avoided, as he intends to spend public funds judiciously.

If this happens, people can expect not only the maintenance medicines of senior citizens to be free of charge, but the medications for the treatment of other ailments as well, especially for those who are dealing with mental health problems.

Related Tags

warehouses rotting panfilo ping lacson vicente tito sotto III Medicines doh
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