The Department of Health (DOH) assured its cooperation with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) regarding an investigation on the alleged monopoly in the procurement process for pneumonia vaccine.
In the Monday (Jan. 24) Laging Handa briefing, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said they are waiting for a copy of the complaint filed by United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) at the PCC.
“Inatasan ko na ang legal service group ng Department of Health to look into this with a sense of urgency…We are awaiting the copy of the complaint para masagot siya point by point,” he said.
Duque said the Bids and Awards Committee of the DOH abides by the rules of the country’s Procurement Act.
“We will give all the information needed by the Philippine Competition Commission, lahat ng dokumento, we will give them what they need and we will fully cooperate with the PCC,” he said.
UFCC national consultant and former congressman Jonathan Dela Cruz said the government may have been “overcharged billions of pesos” by a pharmaceutical company in the procurement of pneumococcal vaccines.
The group appealed to the PCC to temporarily suspend procurement of the vaccines pending the investigation. – Report from Mark Fetalco/AG-rir
