OVER 30,000 beneficiaries may benefit from the P30 million worth of maintenance medicines to be provided by the Cebu City Government.
Distribution of these medicines will be spread throughout the City and said to last for a year.
On Friday, June 27, 2025, Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia launched the medicine maintenance program at the Super Family Health Center in
Barangay Apas.
The launching was attended by the health center’s head Dr. Grace Valdez and some beneficiaries.
Garcia said in a press conference that when he was still serving as the acting mayor, he had already planned to provide maintenance medicines to Cebu City residents. However, due to bureaucracy, processes delayed the release.
He said that the barangay health centers had been identifying the beneficiaries. Garcia added that a barangay consultation will be made to provide checkups to the residents who wish to be beneficiaries.
Garcia said that no medicines will be dispensed unless a valid receipt is shown.
Garcia said that as long as they have receipts to show, they can claim free medicine from the government.
Until supplies last
Since a new administration will take over on June 30, Garcia said that he will leave the responsibility of rolling out the medicines across the City to the incoming officials.
The next administration will decide how often to do it—daily, weekly, or monthly,” he said.
Garcia said that the system will be “until supplies last,” emphasizing that he believes it to last for a year.
During the press conference, a senior citizen cried at the back of Garcia, lamenting the mayor’s loss in the May 2025 elections.
Jobita Obejero, 78, a resident of Calvary Hills, said that she felt sad about Garcia’s defeat.
Obejero said that it was during Garcia’s administration that she experienced being given free medicines for the first time by the Cebu City Government.
She expressed hope that the incoming administration will continue the program. / JPS