APRIL 27, 2026 — The Commission on Audit (COA) has exposed a shocking waste: nearly ₱217 million worth of medicines under the Department of Health (DOH) have already expired, while another ₱476.5 million are on the verge of expiring. That’s a staggering ₱693 million in wasted or at-risk supplies — money that could have saved lives but instead sits rotting in warehouses.

The COA’s Audit Observation Memorandum paints a troubling picture: delays in recording, undocumented transfers, and mismatched inventory records. In fact, discrepancies reached ₱32.64 billion in the DOH’s books, with some entries delayed by as much as 372 days. Imagine medicines sitting idle while patients in barangay health centers line up for basic treatment.

The audit also flagged ₱52.38 million in undocumented transfers and ₱62.32 million in poorly recorded stock movements. Add to that billions in dormant accounts and questionable procurement practices, including ₱1.6 billion in vaccines bought via direct contracting without proper market validation.

The human cost

Every expired tablet or vial represents a missed opportunity to help a Filipino in need. In a country where families often struggle to afford medicine, how can we accept that government-purchased drugs are just left to rot?

COA’s warning is clear: poor planning and weak inventory management lead to inefficiency and wasted funds. The agency urged DOH Secretary Ted Herbosa to tighten timelines, prioritize distribution of near-expiry medicines, and investigate why stocks keep expiring.

Herbosa, however, dismissed the findings as part of a “demolition job” against him. 

Really? Can we afford to shrug off ₱693 million in wasted medicine as mere politics?

We’re talking about a health system already stretched thin — public hospitals short on supplies, barangay clinics struggling, and patients forced to buy medicine out of pocket. When government-purchased drugs expire unused, it’s not just inefficiency — it’s betrayal.

The bigger question is whether procurement decisions are based on actual demand or simply bulk buying without foresight. If medicines are expiring in warehouses, who is accountable? And how many more times will taxpayers foot the bill for waste?

(Image: Wikipedia)