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The Department of Health (DOH) stated that it strictly abides by the procurement rules and regulations when purchasing the syringes required by the government's COVID-19 vaccination program.

Health Minister Francisco Duke III said in a statement on Tuesday, December 14: “We must abide by relevant rules and regulations, even if we conduct emergency purchases and activities in response to the pandemic.”

"Our Ministry of Health has been and will continue to be committed to good governance, which is the cornerstone of public health, and this is even more so in this health emergency. Let us not belittle our health professionals with baseless accusations," He added.

The Ministry of Health issued the above statement after Teddy Locsin Jr., Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) stated that the Philippines "abandoned again" a transaction that may involve "50 million syringes."

The Ministry of Health stated that it “has received an offer from a company for a 0.3 ml syringe”. However, the agency stated that it "cannot take action on such unsolicited proposals."

"There seems to be a series of misunderstandings on this issue. On the one hand, the Ministry of Health is not currently purchasing 0.3 ml syringes because our CHD (Health Development Center) and the hospital have received funds to purchase available alternative tuberculin syringes," Duke said .

“We are purchasing a 0.5 ml syringe. As part of our supplier pool, we have invited as many suppliers as possible in order to obtain the most favorable price for the government,” he added.

The Ministry of Health stated that it “has included the company in its supplier base for emergency procurement of 0.5 ml syringes.” The Ministry of Health also added that it “issued a request for quotation (RFQ) to the proposing company and 50 other local suppliers. "

"The Ministry of Health has responded seriously to the company's inquiries through its technical staff. They are proficient in the procurement process of health products and are specifically responsible for solving supplier inquiries," said the Ministry of Health.

“However, when the company questioned the approved contract budget (ABC) or the maximum contract price, the department had to reiterate the provisions of the RA No. 9184 2016 implementing rules and regulations regarding the upper limit of the bid price due to the fact that it was too low,” it added .

“The syringe purchased by UNICEF is 0.3 ml, so its price cannot be compared with 0.5 ml syringes. In addition, DOH was able to purchase 0.5 ml syringes at a price of P2.38 in April 2021 last year, and has already used these costs. On its ABC," it further added.

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