Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) representatives led the launching of the Cheaper Medicines Law last August 15.
According to a BFAD Representative, part of the launching activity was the on-the-spot inspection of all the drugstores and pharmacies. Based on their monitoring, big companies, like Mercury Drug Stores, have complied with the 50 percent price reduction of the various essential drugs.
Although the DOH said almost all drugstores and pharmacies have complied with the new prices, Duque said there have been reports of stores that did not pull down the prices of drugs under the new list.
In order to ensure that there is compliance with said law, DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III asked consumers to keep receipts of their medicine purchases to help identify drugstores that are not complying with the Cheaper Medicines Act.
The medicines with cheaper prices include anti-hypertensives, anti-thrombotic,anti-diabetic/antihypoglycemic, and antibiotic/antibacterial. (PIA)
