Access to medicines and basic healthcare services is being expanded through a new Pambansang Botika Plus outlet at SSS Diliman in Quezon City, which officially opened on Sept. 29.
Led by the Philippine Pharma Procurement Inc. (PPI) and the Social Security System (SSS), the facility is intended to provide affordable medicines alongside healthcare services through a single access point.
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New Outlet to Bring Medicines Closer to Communities
PPI President and CEO Maria Blanca Kim Lokin said Pambansang Botika Plus was designed as a one-stop shop for medicines and healthcare services. The initiative will also include a mobile medicine-delivery network developed with local government units, allowing medicines to reach communities and households where traveling to an outlet may be difficult.
“This is the last-mile delivery that we want to bring you,” Lokin said.
The program is being implemented with PhilHealth, private healthcare providers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and SSS. Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon, who served as guest speaker, welcomed the collaboration among agencies, particularly the partnership between PPI and SSS to widen healthcare access.
Gadon also pointed to developments in government hospitals under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He said Filipinos confined in Department of Health (DOH)-owned and operated hospitals could avail themselves of zero billing without securing a guarantee letter from lawmakers of government officials.
He cited the installation of a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner at Bataan General Hospital, noting that a PET scan could cost about P150,000, while discounted rates in some private facilities could bring the cost down to around P70,000.
“At Bataan General Hospital, the PET scan is free,” Gadon said, adding that the facility could serve patients from Bulacan, Pampanga and Metro Manila.
YAKAP Services and Expansion to Other SSS Branches
Gadon said public hospitals had also gained wider access to equipment such as computed tomography scanners. He also highlighted the government's Yaman ng Kalusugan (YAKAP) program implemented by PhilHealth, emphasizing the need for healthcare to include disease prevention alongside treatment.
PhilHealth Vice President Walter Bacareza, who attended the opening, said YAKAP is PhilHealth's expanded primary care program. It provides registered beneficiaries with consultations, selected diagnostic and laboratory services, medicines and preventive care.
SSS president and CEO Robert Joseph de Claro said the Diliman facility is expected to serve as a model for similar outlets that SSS aims to establish in other branches. The outlet will carry generic medicines and essential vaccines and provide primary care services, while also offering consultation and diagnostic services as a PhilHealth YAKAP service provider.
Importantly, access will not be restricted to SSS members and pensioners. “It is open to all citizens who can come here to avail themselves of the YAKAP-Pambansang Botika Plus program,” de Claro said.
Bringing affordable medicines and primary care services into one facility, while planning mobile delivery for communities with limited access, could help address one of the practical barriers to healthcare: getting essential services and medicines within reach. The expansion of the model to other SSS branches could further extend that access beyond Diliman and into more communities nationwide.
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