DOH execs in 'hot water' over region's anti-Malaria drug deal
Lydia Depra Ramos
At least 15 senior officials of the Department of Health (DOH) in Western Visayas had been called in to serve as government resource persons in a fact-finding probe of the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas.
Focus of the investigation is the region's procurement of some P800,000 anti-Malaria drugs or about 75,000 tablets reportedly surrounded by irregularities. Primary subject of the fact-finding is DOH Regional Director Lydia Depra-Ramos and key associates involved in the department's procurement process.
Colleagues of the now beleaguered lady director responded to the invites sent out Monday by the Ombudsman. At least four graft investigators were simultaneously tasked to interview the 15 DOH resource persons with the one-on-one query lasting over an hour.
In a report, The News Today (TNT) learned that questions surfaced on the department's purchase of anti-Malaria generic drugs such as Chloroquine, Primaquine and Sulfadoxine. Western Visayas has no known significant Malaria cases in the past years.
Yet another procurement brought to the Ombudsman's attention was on the millions spent for disinfectant allegedly 'disguised' as the region's response to avian-flu.
It was not immediately clear if a similar invite was sent out to Director Ramos however Monday's fact-finding probe coincided with the meeting called by Deputy Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol with Western Visayas regional directors. Director Ramos was a no-show in the said meeting.
The fact-finding is expected to be resolved in the next two weeks.
Deputy Ombudsman Apostol when reached for statement opted to keep mum at the moment saying he leaves it to his investigators to validate the charges.
To recall, the DOH here had been singled out in the latest Annual Audit Report of the Commission on Audit (COA) for questionable dealings and operations.
Last year saw the findings of 901 Botika ng Barangays (BnB) operating in Western Visayas discovered by government auditors to have been allowed to operate in the past year minus government-mandated "Special Licenses To Operate" (SLTO). Said figure comprise about 92% of the total 972 monitored in the region with only eight of these BnBs able to submit the required quarterly-reports in 2006.
Further still, DOH 6 has over P57.8 million in inaccurate accounting of hospital property under its care and management alongside unsettled cash advances of various hospitals executives of nearly P2 million.
COA inventories of drugs and medicines purchased in 2006 also noted millions in deficiencies as supposedly issued to the BnBs throughout the region.
For one, the Center for Health Development (CHD) for Western Visayas made it in the Commission's list of "deficient" centers with P10,996,557.60 in "unrecorded receipts and issuances of BnB." The amount was supposedly an "understatement" alongside the "overstatement" recorded totaling P10,771,877.10.
Analysis then of the DOH's over-all accounts on drugs and medicine inventory revealed the significant errors. Also included were medical, dental and laboratory supplies.
And more findings as well in the inspection conducted by the COA team in the pharmacy, laboratory and other stockrooms of hospitals and centers subject of the report.
The CHD-DOH 6 once again made it in the report with COA highlighting such in its findings.
"Poor inventory management and the inadequate procurement planning and monitoring of drugs and medicines and laboratory supplies resulted in unutilized items in CHD Western Visayas amounting to P4,704,000.00… thereby wasting scarce government resources," excerpts of the COA report obtained by TNT stated.