SOCIAL PROBLEMS

REACTION:

According to the report of Gabriel Pabico Lalu of the Inquirer.net, DOH revives Botika ng
Bayan to help LGUs and rural health units. As I can see, the Botika ng Bayan (BNB) program
aims to provides a strong support from the local government units of its commitment to promote
affordable and quality drugs.

Households spend a large percentage in medicines. For most people, the need of these
medicines can cause significant burden to them financially. Given the large number of Filipinos
who remain poor and who rely on government health services and commodities, there is a need
for the local government units to be involved in the financing of drugs. But with these BNB
program, the government provides easy access for a low-priced over-the-counter and
medication drugs, as well as safe and quality drugs to all, especially for those critical and hard-
to-reach areas and barangays.

One of the felt problems we have here in the country is the very expensive drugs sold in
the private local drug market. So with these programs, prices can be reduced through
competition. The BNB can bring down the local prices of drugs and innovative medicines.

The challenge now for the LGU’s Botika, is the procurement of the drugs especially if the
private sector can do it at a lower cost. The LGU’s should increase the financing and improve
the procurement and distribution of medicines for the poor.
 Another problem that could be addressed by these program is that, many Filipinos rely
on government hospitals and health services, but with the absence of drugs in many of these
hospitals, that would carry heavy costs to them, because households tend to buy in private
drugstores as out of the pocket spending.

One important aspect that the LGU should consider is the presence of the pharmacists,
who should directly supervise the dispensing of the medicines. Pharmacists are important in
every drugstore, that is to sell quality generic medicines and to protect customers from buying
counterfeit drugs.

But the main question that we have to consider is the scale of our government budget
financing for pharmaceuticals as compared with the total pharmaceutical sales in the country.
Despite these limitations, the government should be able to make a significant mark in the
reduction of pharmaceutical prices. Given the level of poverty that requires pharmaceutical
financing subsidy, what is important is the countervailing power of our government in
pharmaceutical procurement and distribution.