Manila, Jan. 7 -- The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday said a Commission on Audit (COA) report flagging PHP405 million worth of idle medical equipment was based on 2024 data and does not reflect implementation progress made in 2025.

Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said the audit observation covered equipment procured in 2024 under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) and remained idle, unutilized, undelivered, or uninstalled as of end-2024.

"This is a COA report of Dec. 31, 2024, so released in 2025," Herbosa said during a Palace press briefing.

"So you have to understand, there was a whole year of 2025 to fulfill the implementation of all those programs."

The audit body earlier said the PHP405.545 million worth of...