TACLOBAN CITY- People of Arteche town in Eastern Samar will soon enjoy cheap prices of medicines.
This will happen once the ‘Botika ng Bayan’ will start its operations which will offer quality but cheaper medicines compared to privately-owned pharmacies.
Mayor Roland Boei Evardone said that the public pharmacy will start its operation once the needed medicines supplied by the Department of Health (DOH) arrives.
The operation of the Botika ng Bayan in Arteche, the first of its kind in the province, is funded by the DOH which will be responsible in the supply of medicine and the salary of the pharmacist.
“We are thankful to the Department of Health for choosing our town as recipient of this program. The DOH will procure and replenish the supply of medicine while the LGU’s role is to dispense (the medicines),” Evardone said.
While it is the DOH that will supply them the medicine, the local government unit will maintain the pharmacy.
The mayor is grateful to the staff of their Rural Health Unit who worked hard to comply all the needed documents and requirements for them to be issued of license to operate.
“This is a great honor to our town to be part of this program as the first town in Eastern Samar to have this especially that most of our residents are living on the poverty level,” Evardone said.
Evardone disclosed that about 56 percent of the total population of their town are living in poverty.
Based on the 2015 population survey of the Philippine Statistics Authority the town has more than 16,000 population from its 20 villages.
The progam was first introduced during the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but was discontinued sometimes in 2011 due to lack of pharmacists and even supplies of medicines.
The progam aims to provide access to free essential medicines for common diseases in the villages targeting the poor people in the community.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
