Tuesday, May 29, 2007 PITC aims to open 2,000 pharmacies by yearend By Bong Garcia
THE Philippine International Trading Corporation (PITC), an attached agency to the Office of the President, recently opened a depot in this city aimed at providing cheaper medicines to the poorest of the poor in this part of the country.
PITC vice president for sales and marketing Jose Cortez said the depot will be the one to provide the needed stocks of the Botika ng Bayan (BnB) in this city and in nearby Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces to ensure a steady supply of cheaper medicines.
The PITC, which was established in 2005, is the government agency that oversees the operations of the BnBs in the different parts of the country.
Cortez said the depot, which was opened up two weeks ago, would be handled by the International Medical Exchange (Imex) based on an agreement forged between PITC and Imex.
"Basically they (Imex) will be our distributor here. They will take care of the servicing of all the Botika ng Bayan that we are establishing here and that includes the hospitals and local government units," he said.
So far, there are already six BnBs in this city, one in Tawi-Tawi and one accredited outlet in Lamitan City, Basilan province. A BnB is soon to open in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan.
Cortez said the establishment of the depot here, the 21st in the Philippines, is in line with the target of PITC in establishing 2,000 BnB outlets in the entire country by the end of this year.
There are already 1,345 BnBs operating in the different parts of the country catering cheaper medicines to the public, according to Cortez.
The prices of medicines sold at BnBs are lesser by one-half of the price that are being sold in privately owned pharmacies.
Cortez said there are at least 72 products, including branded medicines that are being sold at different BnB outlets.
Cortez said that there are still 18 other branded medicines that are already in the possession of PITC awaiting approval from the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to be sold to the public.
He said the ones that are being sold at BnBs are the essential medicines that cater to the needs of the people "who need medication up to a lifetime."
"Out mandate is to provide the essential medicines of which that are commonly bought by people from poor families," he said.
