Senator Roxas calls for Botika ng Bayan accessible to every barangay

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | posted in , , , , , , , | 3 comments

For quality and affordable medicines to be truly accessible to the poor, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas called on the government and private sector to invest in establishing drugstore outlets accessible to all 45,000 barangays.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade and Commerce stressed that prices of medicines in the Philippines remains among the highest in the region - including the 11 vital drugs that each Filipino should have access to.
Kulang na kulang pa ang mga Botika ng Bayan. Kasabay ng pagpapababa sa presyo ng gamot, kailangan din nating siguruhing may mapagbibilhan ng mga gamot na ito (We have too few Botika ng Bayan outlets nationwide. Together with the fight to lower medicine prices, we should also ensure that these medicines are easily accessible to the public),” he said.

Kailangang itulak pa ang pagpaparami ng mga Botika ng Bayan. Kulitin natin ang gobyerno na maglaan ng pondo rito. Manawagan din tayo sa pribadong sektor na magpundar sa layuning ito (We should push for more Botika ng Bayan outlets. Let’s continue to call on the government to allocate funds for this. Let’s also call on the private sector to invest in this cause),” he stressed.
Roxas, primary author of the Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, said that cheaper versions of the 11 vital drugs–which are up to 90% cheaper than branded counterparts–should be promoted and made available to all parts of the country.

For instance, Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) costs P27.30 per 50mg capsule, while it could be sourced at only P1.50 per capsule. Antiox (Mebendazole) costs P60 per 500mg tablet, while it could be sourced at only P4.50 per tablet.

The Ilonggo senator pointed out that at present, there are about 1,800 Botika ng Bayan outlets nationwide. However, he pointed out that the number of existing Botika ng Bayan outlets is only more than half of the government’s own target of 3,300 outlets in 2010, as indicated in the National Statistical Coordination Board’s Statistical Indicators on Philippine Development.
Panawagan nating magkaroon ng 18,000 pang Botika ng Bayan para mailapit talaga sa taumbayan ang mabisa at abot-kayang gamot. Kung kaya nga nating bawat isa sa 45,000 barangay sa bansa, bakit hindi natin gawin? (We call for at least 18,000 more Botika ng Bayan outlets so that quality and affordable medicines are within reach by the people. If we can even put in place a drug store in each of the 45,000 barangays in the country, let’s DOH it),” he said.
Botika ng Bayan are privately-owned retail drug outlets where cheaper medicines purchased by the Philippine International Trading Corp. through parallel importation and other means are sold.



About The Blogger
Kevin Ray N. Chua

Kevin Ray N. Chua is a 19 year-old blogger from Cebu City, Philippines and an IT Student at Cebu Institute of Technology.

He is currently the Secretary General of the CIT-SSG.

Know more about the blogger.

Feel free to contact the blogger.
Print
3 Responses So far
gravatar
Joe
on February 12, 2009 at 11:07 AM  

I am interested on investing a drugstore outlet as part of our Senator Mar Roxas project. May i ask for more details regarding requirements and procedure how to invest in the business in connection with the Department of Health.

gravatar
Kevin Ray N. Chua
on February 12, 2009 at 12:31 PM  

Hi there Joe! I would like to ask for your e-mail address so that I can easily contact on you. Senator Mar Roxas would really be very happy with this one. Thanks!

gravatar
Unknown
on August 10, 2009 at 3:53 AM  

Good morning! I am interested on investing a botika ng bayan outlet as part of Senator Mar Roxas project. May I ask for the info? and requirements? The desire of my heart is really indeed to help people. Specially in our province. Thank you so much and God bless

Post a Comment

Thanks a lot for visiting the Mar Roxas for President in 2010 Blog!

If you have comments, suggestions or reactions in relation with the post, please don't hesitate to write them here. Click here if you want to contact the blogger.

Suggest blog articles about Mar Roxas here. Click here!

Get Involved!





Blog Archive