Mercado urged to hold DOH execs liable over expired medicines

Health Secretary Edwin Mercado was urged Sunday to hold Department of Health officials accountable over the alleged wastage of millions of pesos worth of expired medicines.

“We urge Secretary Edwin Mercado to lead with integrity and transparency — to hold accountable those responsible for this systemic failure,” health reform advocate Dr. Anthony Leachon said in a social media post on 20 September.

Leachon issued the call following the DOH budget deliberations before the Senate finance committee, chaired by Sen. Raffy Tulfo.

During the hearing, Tulfo scrutinized the agency’s proposed budget and presented photographs of expired medicines worth millions of pesos that were allegedly buried by the department.

“The Senate hearings have confirmed what the Commission on Audit (COA) has been flagging for years — massive wastage of medicines worth billions of pesos, culminating in ₱217 million worth of government-procured drugs expiring in 2025,” Leachon said.

“This is not just poor planning. It is gross negligence, failed leadership, and a betrayal of public trust. While millions of Filipinos struggle to afford maintenance medicines, life-saving drugs were left to rot in warehouses — and even buried underground,” he added.

Leachon commended Tulfo for raising the issue and urged him and Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian “to sustain the momentum of reform and ensure that justice is served.”

He also called on the DOH to reform its logistics system by hiring qualified supply chain experts to prevent overstocking and medicines from expiring.

Leachon further proposed enforcing open bidding and clearer accountability for procurements, using digital systems to track stocks and distribution to local government units and hospitals, and publishing monthly reports on medicine logistics and wastage.