“If the matter goes beyond simple administrative liability, then I will direct the National Bureau of Investigation to do its own probe,” Guevarra told journalists.
He cited the need for the Lower Chamber to look into the overstocking of medicines, which may be attributed to the DOH’s “bad and wasteful inventory management” and the purported “excessive eagerness” of some DOH officials to authorize bloated purchase orders for medicines because of induced procurements.
The lady lawmaker said: “This huge expiring medicines fiasco has dealt a heavy blow to the credibility and integrity of the DOH following the past eye operations and dialysis scams.” The audit report also stated that more than P72.3 million worth of medicines were distributed to DOH regional offices less than a year before their expiry dates.