CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Legal Office has ruled that all pharmacies to which the city owes money for the medicine dispensed under the City Medical Assistance Program (CAMP) shall be paid despite a Commission on Audit report questioning the program.
In a legal opinion, Lawyer Eleodoro L. Diaz IV said that all participating pharmacies, which have dispensed medicine under the CAMP, have the right to be paid.
This is contrary to the observation of COA last year where the latter agency questioned the validity of the program due to some non-complied government procedures and alleged questionable transactions.
To recall, COA had several observations including the inclusion of middle-class beneficiaries while the program is supposed to be for the poor, absence of a bidding, lack of identification of beneficiaries or failure of the city to profile their beneficiaries to make sure they are real city residents and the inclusion of some questionable items not meant to cure the patient like beauty products and Viagra.
“On the issue that the procurement of medicines was not subjected to a public bidding, we rule on the negative. The program designed through CAMP is sui generis; it is anchored upon the medical prescription are recommended by the doctor,” the legal opinion reads.
The opinion emphasized that the public bidding is not necessary because the medicines purchased or dispensed are based on the needs of the patients.
The city lawyer explained that most of these constituents are seeking medical assistance for emergency purposes, thus, the immediate granting of the prescribed medicine requires prime consideration and must not undergo stringent requirements for every type of illness or disease.
“It would be meaningless to procure items which would not be of use to a particular patient, leaving us without any option but to distribute our remaining stock medicines before the same would be expired causing undue disadvantage and unreasonable expenses on the part of the city government,” the opinion reads.
The city has still some payables left to at least four pharmacies that participated CAMP and CHAMP.
From CAMP, the city still owes less than P20 million. Not that it has been replaced by CHAMP and pre-audit was lifted by COA, the payment to pharmacies for all transactions under the new CHAMP is expected to be released immediately, if not on time. (FREEMAN)