El Caribe newspaper reports that Attorney General Virgilio Bello Rosa has ordered that no pharmaceutical dispatches be made from the warehouse of the government program that distributes medicines to pharmacies in public hospitals. The Programa de Medicamentos Esenciales (Promese) has been questioned for importing and selling over 20 different pharmaceuticals of questionable origin and without the government’s registration. The claims were made by the boards of the Infadomi and Arapf associations which represent manufacturers and importers of medicines. The director of Promese, Juan Francisco Benoit, has repeatedly denied the allegations. Just recently, on Maria Elena Núñez TV show on CDN, he said that Infadomi had stained his honor and that board members “did not have the testicles to confront him alone.” While the show was on the air, viewers called in to say that Promese was picking up medicines without registration from the state pharmacies to cover up the irregularity. The Attorney General visited the warehouse with the press which reported on the many boxes of pharmaceuticals without any health registration that were in stock or about to be distributed. January to April Customs records show that Promese also imported medicines for US$1 million without holding the legally required tenders for their purchase.
