The Province of Negros Oriental is looking for a new supplier of medicines for its health care program after the go-to pharmacy they had been getting medicines from these past several years cut its credit line due to unpaid bills.
For the moment, no pharmacy has stepped up to fill the dearth in the supply of medicines because of a price cap imposed by the Department of Health.
Gov. Roel Degamo authorized members of the Provincial Board to go to Cebu last week to meet with officials of the Vicente Sotto Medical Center, a government hospital, on how they could help supply the medicine needs of the Province of Negros Oriental.
The V. Sotto Medical Center said they could ask their supplier to also provide medicine to Negros Oriental, but the Board Members want to first consult with the Commission on Audit to see if this will not run counter to the law.
A supplier of medicine from Cebu was willing to give medicine on consignment but it was found that they could only supply 47 percent of the medicines in the list provided by the Provincial Health Office.
The shortage of Negros Oriental’s medical supplies started after the owners of Atong Botica and Distibutorship, spouses Marconi C. Llosa and Francisca Pitchina Ponce de Leon-Llosa, filed a case with the Office of the Ombudsman for violations of the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service/Dishonesty/Grave Misconduct.
The pharmacy said the Province owes them P5,823,188.77 for medicines and P197,907 for laboratory services. They said they had been trying to collect since 2013.
Named respondents in the case were Gov. Roel Degamo, Board Member Miguel Dungog, and provincial employees Moyette Rotea and Christopher Calumpang.
In their complaint, the Llosa couple said their pharmacy had been supplying the medicine needs of the Province since 2011. Under their agreement with the Province, patients would come to them with their medical prescriptions and they could just get the medicine at the said pharmacy under a direct purchase scheme. Sometimes, they said, they were asked to give cash in lieu of medicines.
The complainants said they later realized that the purchases were illegal. There was no budget in the Provincial Budget, as well as in the Annual Investment Plan. (MP)