President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday pushed for the expansion of the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) clinics and Guaranteed Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment (GAMOT) providers especially in underserved areas, as well as the acceleration of digital services and streamlining of the process to make medicines available to the public more quickly.
The President raised these goals during the 11th meeting of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) Healthcare Sector Group in Malacañang.
“Through these measures, the government aims to reduce medical expenses and expedite access to essential medicines and healthcare services for more Filipinos,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.
The PCO said that to date, at least 22.42 million people have benefitted from YAKAP, while 1.28 million Filipinos received free medicines under the GAMOT program.
It added that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already approved 6,971 Certificate of Product Registration applications under GAMOT from January to September 2026, up by 49 percent from the same period last year.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the meeting also discussed measures that would improve health services in the country, including increasing healthcare facilities and strengthening the capabilities of the Philippine Health Corporation (PhilHealth).
Castro said the outcome of the meeting is expected to help solve health challenges currently faced by the country.
“Makakaasa ang ating mga kapwa Pilipino na higit pang pagbubutihin ang serbisyong pangkalusugan sa tulong ng patuloy na gumagandang ugnayan ng pamahalaan at pribadong sektor,” Castro also added.
YAKAP is an expanded primary care and preventive healthcare program of PhilHealth that provides outpatient primary care checkups in over 4,600 PhilHealth-accredited primary care facilities, covers 13 essential laboratory outpatient tests and six cancer screening tests, as well as access to up to 75 essential medications, with a P20,000 annual cap per member under GAMOT.