Department of Health (DOH) Ted Herbosa and five other officials face multiple corruption cases before the Office of the Ombudsman over P44.6-million worth of mental health drugs.
The complaint was filed by concerned personnel of DOH personnel and healthcare governance advocates against Herbosa, Officer-in-Charge and Director for Supply Chain Management Engr. Dave Masiado, DOH Medical Officer IV Dr. Carmela N. Granada, Timotei Jemma A. Rabe, Tasneem A. Amping, Erwin J. Odpoga, and Ramon Guiang.
It stemmed from the questionable and disproportionate allocation of government-procured psychiatric medications to a private civic organization Rotary Club of Quezon City.
The said allocation, composed of regulated and prescription-only psychiatric medications nearing expiry, raises serious concerns specifically: misuse of public property, concealment of over-procurement and inventory mismanagement, circumvention of government disposal protocols, and violation of pharmaceutical and anti-graft laws.
On 30 January, then Assistant Secretary of Health for Public Health Service Cluster and Concurrent Director IV Farwa M. Hombre allegedly received a direct instruction from Herbosa to accommodate requests coming from the Rotary Club.
Hombre gave a certain John Aron Rey Manapsal, MD, as the contact person for Rotary.
On 11 February, Undersecretary of Health Achilles Gerard C. Bravo also reportedly issued Department Order No. 2025-0080 allocating a sub-allotment of 1,527,686 to the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) for the procurement and delivery of essential mental health drugs.
However, upon ocular inspection, it was discovered that the NCMH was not requesting any funding. The site visit also revealed that mental health commodities in large volumes are about to expire.
Further, on 4 April, Herbosa allegedly requested psychiatric drugs for a medical mission purportedly to be conducted on 17 June. No location of the medical mission was, however, disclosed in the said letter request.
"[It] is public knowledge that the Rotary Club is neither a Center for Health Development nor a hospital. It does not have the license to dispense psychiatric medication," the letter read.
On 14 May, reportedly acting under the instructions of Herbosa, Masiado instructed the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau-Mental Health Programs Division, to also allocate psychiatric drugs in favor of the Rotary Club.
Meanwhile, DOH Spokesperson Undersecretary Albert Domingo said the Department refuses to comment until the Ombudsman serves the official complaint.
"We await the official service of the reported complaint before any action or comment," Domingo told DAILY TRIBUNE.
Among the cases faced by Herbosa include Grave Misconduct, Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, and Violations to the Anti-Graft Law, among others.