President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. wants more Filipinos to benefit from PhilHealth’s P20,000 annual medicine coverage, directing government agencies to bring information about the program directly to communities instead of waiting for patients to seek assistance.
During a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council’s Healthcare Sector Group in Malacañang on October 21, the President expressed concern that many Filipinos registered under PhilHealth’s YAKAP program have yet to avail themselves of the GAMOT medicine benefit.
President Marcos directed PhilHealth and the Presidential Communications Office to intensify public information campaigns, tapping barangay health workers, local government units, and both traditional and digital media to reach more beneficiaries.
The directive aims to close the gap between Filipinos who are already registered for healthcare services and those who actually receive the medicines they need.
In the same meeting, President Marcos also pushed for faster regulatory approvals to improve the availability of medicines and healthcare products in the country.
Newly appointed Food and Drug Administration Director General Margarita Gutierrez committed to clearing the agency’s pending applications within one year.
To meet the target, the FDA plans to hire 125 additional evaluators and five systems analysts to address processing delays, particularly applications still handled manually.
The administration is also moving to streamline healthcare services through digitalization, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology proposing the integration of government contribution payments into the eGov Superapp.
Meanwhile, a regulatory sandbox for pharmacies is scheduled for pilot implementation in November to test improvements in pharmacy services.
The President’s directives underscore the administration’s push to ensure that healthcare benefits already funded by the government translate into medicines and services that Filipinos can actually access.