President Gloria Arroyo inaugurated the 15,000th Botika ng Barangay in Cabatuan, Iloilo on September 24, 2009. The Botika ng Barangay aims to provide accessible and affordable medicines.

Department of Health (DOH) representative Mary Agnes Halili said the establishment of the Botika ng Barangay in Barangay Tiring would spare poor residents from traveling three kilometers to buy cheaper medicines in neighboring Brgy. Gibuangan where the nearest BnB is located.

The barangay will receive P 25,000 worth of medicines from the DOH.  The BnB will be manned by two Tiring residents, both were trained by the health department in the region.

“Aside from the fact that our residents can now have easy access to low-priced medicines, the opening of the BnB also opened an employment opportunity in our community,” Genovevo Monticado, Punong Barangay of Tiring, said.

Barangay Tiring is the latest addition to the 16 barangays in Cabatuan with BnB outlets.

The Botika ng Barangay progam was launched by President Arroyo in 2003 to ensure accessibility and availability of affordable medicines to poor communities, including insurgency-affected areas. The outlets carry over-the-counter drugs, generic home remedies, and publicly known prescription antibiotic drugs at low prices.

The establishment of BnBs is a joint undertaking of the Philippine International Trading Corporation and the DOH. A community-based organization and/or the local government unit manage these stores, while trained operators and a supervising pharmacist oversee the operation.

The administration under President Arroyo is focused on providing quality healthcare that is affordable and accessible especially to the most vulnerable sectors of society.  Health insurance coverage under Philhealth, for instance, was expanded to cover more
beneficiaries from the poorest  sectors of the country.
On June 6, 2008, the President signed into law the Cheaper Medicines Act which aims to bring down the cost of commonly prescribed medicines by giving the President the power to put price ceilings on various essential drugs.

The establishment of the 15,000th Botika ng Barangay is yet another milestone in the administration’s efforts to bring quality, low-cost medicines closer to the masses.(PIA)