Business World – September 7, 2007

CEBU CITY — The Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) has partnered with newly organized Philippine Healthwatch Initiatives, Inc. (Healthwatch) to assure the efficacy of medicines sold in Botika ng Bayan (BnB) outlets nationwide and encourage the people to patronize these.

PITC President Jorge M. Judan and Healthwatch Chairman Roberto M. Pagdanganan signed a memorandum of agreement yesterday on the sidelines of the 11th Drugstores Association of the Philippines (DSAP) National Convention in Cebu City.

Both PITC and Healthwatch have set up booths at the DSAP Trade Expo.And the reason this comes about, even in a supposedly democratic society such as ours, is the Golden Rule. Not the one we learned as little children, of course, but the one that says: Those who hold the gold make the rules.

Both PITC and Healthwatch have set up booths at the DSAP Trade Expo.

Under the agreement, the PITC commissioned Healthwatch to be the lead convenor of all stakeholders, such as other nongovernmental organizations, doctors, suppliers and the media, that are involved in PITC Pharma’s information dissemination campaign.

PITC Pharma, which is primarily tasked to take care of PITC’s pharmaceuticals business, is a subsidiary of the PITC.

Mr. Pagdanganan said Healthwatch will ensure that information on cheap and effective drugs will reach the grassroots.

"Healthwatch will set up structures and mechanisms for PITC’s information to reach the grassroots. Our pilot project will be training the barangay health workers and midwives in Bohol on how to encourage the people in their barangay to buy drugs from the BnB," he said in an interview.

Correct misconception

Mr. Judan said PITC, through Healthwatch, aims to correct the misconception that the BnB outlets do not have complete line of medicine products and that the medicines sold in these outlets are not as effective as those sold by regular drugstores.

PITC’s partnership with Healthwatch is part of the government-owned company’s move to integrate the government’s entire wellness delivery system from production, marketing, information campaign, distribution, to insurance through PhilHealth.

Teddie Elson E. Rivera, chief operating officer of PITC Pharma, said PITC aims to expand its delivery system by establishing 4,000 BnB, one in each city or municipality, by 2010. 

PITC also wants to have at least 5,000 Botika ng Barangay outlets in the same period.  

There are currently 1,467 BnBs, 130 of which are full BnBs, 656 are DSAP members while 681 are non-DSAP members.  

In the production aspect, Mr. Rivera said the public could expect new and cheap medicines manufactured by PITC’s local drug manufacturing partners to come out in the local market before the end of the year. — Jessica Banzon-Natad  

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