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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider COA flags DOH over P693 M expired, expiring medicines

COA flags DOH over P693 M expired, expiring medicines

Published Apr 27, 2026 10:03 am
The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged almost P217 million worth of expired medicines in the medical inventory of the Department of Health (DOH).
That is as of Dec. 31 last year and COA, in its Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM), said P476.5 million more are set to expire.
“These figures suggest that procurement planning and inventory management could be further refined to prevent overlocking. The volume of near-expiry medicines also presents a risk that supplies may lapse before reaching beneficiaries,” COA states in its report.
“This situation impacts the timely distribution of medical resources and could lead to the inefficient use of government funds,” it added.
COA earlier flagged DOH for inventory deficiencies, including delays in recording and lack of documentation on the movement of medicines.
The report also raised questions about whether demand was properly assessed and whether the volume matched actual needs.
In the same report, COA said it recommended to DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa to require agency heads to implement a more stringent timeline and closely monitor the disposal of expired drugs, medicines and medical supplies to prevent delays and minimize storage cost.
At the same time, it recommended efficiency in distribution through timely coordination with concerned programs/units, as well as prioritization of the distribution of expiring medicines and to determine the specific causes of the expired stocks.

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