Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano came out swinging during the DOHโs 2026 budget debate, hammering the agency for chronic delays in vaccine delivery and warning that if Secretary Ted Herbosa cannot guarantee timely rollout next year, โletโs get a secretary who can.โ Cayetano revealed that flu vaccinesโnormally administered worldwide by March or Aprilโstill hadnโt arrived as of November 26, rendering them useless by their December 31 expiry. Routine childhood vaccines, he added, were also delayed or insufficient. โCambodia and Laos arenโt late with vaccines. Why is the Philippines always late?โ he said.
Sen. Pia Cayetano, defending the DOH budget, admitted the issue stemmed from major procurement failures, intense bidder competition, and internal mismanagementโenough for Herbosa to fire the departmentโs procurement head. She also confirmed that vaccines expected as early as April will only arrive in December, though she noted the incoming doses have updated formulations for next yearโs strains. The DOH plans to shift to a framework contract system to prevent repeat delays, but the minority leader said itโs unacceptable that the department still cannot commit to a timely rollout in 2026.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo added more heat, grilling the DOH for billions worth of medicines expiring in warehouses while seniors and low-income communities go without. DOH explained that Mandanas-driven devolution restricts its ability to distribute medicines outside disaster response, but lawmakers said the policy gap needs urgent fixing. As the punches landed from all sides, the message was clear: the DOH is on the ropes, and senators want a full systems overhaul before another year of delays costs more lives.
Image from Senate of the PH FB