PROMDI presidential candidate Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao on Sunday supported proposals that would allow small store owners to sell over-the-counter (OTC) medicines without any permit.
Pacquiao questioned why the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) had to require these “sari-sari” store owners from selling OTC medicines to secure a permit, saying this is anti-poor and very impractical especially for rural folks.
The senator stressed that these small community stores are the most accessible source of medicines needed for ordinary ailments like flu, influenza, diarrhea or stomach ache, and body pains.
OTC medicines are also known as non-prescription medicines which can be bought without a prescription. They are safe and effective for ordinary ailments.
"Consider natin na hindi lahat ay malapit sa mga drug store. Sa ibang lugar baka 10 hanggang 20 kilometro ang layo ng bayan na kung saan may mga botika, tapos hindi pa lahat 24 hours open (Let’s consider that not all people have quick access to a drug store. Some are living in places that may be 10 to 20 kilometers far from areas where there are drugstores, and not all are open for 24 hours),” Pacquiao explained in a statement.
“Hindi lahat may sasakyan para umalis patungong bayan to buy medicine sa gabi. Isa pa, karamihan tingi-tingi lang kung bumili kaya baka mas mahal pa yung pamasahe o gasolinang kinonsumo sa bibilhin nilang gamot (Not everyone has a vehicle to go out and buy medicines at night. Another thing is that most of those who buy OTC medicines do not buy in bulk, so they may have to spend more on gas or jeepney fare),” he explained.
The senator said this is the actual situation among many poor Filipinos especially those living in the countryside.
The former boxer-turned-legislator said that an effective regulation and crackdown against smuggling should solve concerns about the alleged proliferation of fake medicines, as what authorities feared could happen.
But “sari-sari” stores can be required to submit a list of drugs they are selling to their barangays to allow proper monitoring, Pacquiao said.
At most, the lawmaker said the government should also launch a crackdown against the smuggling of counterfeit medicines and government officials who are protecting these smugglers must be immediately arrested.
“Kailangan nating higpitan ang pagpasok ng mga pekeng gamot at hindi dapat pinapahirapan ang mga malilit na sari-sari stores. Wala namang maititinda na peke kung walang makakapasok sa atin na peke (We just need to strengthen mechanisms that would prevent counterfeit medicines from coming in, but we should not let our small stores suffer. No one will sell fake medicines if these cannot enter the country’s borders),” he said.
“Kailangan lang nating ma-implement mabuti ang ating generic law nang sa gayon ay maging accessible sa tao ang mga mura ngunit mabisang gamot (We only need to implement our generic law very well so that affordable but effective medicines would be accessible to the people),” Pacquiao stressed.