(UPDATE) Good news, seniors! Senior citizens need not present their purchase booklets to avail of discounts on medicines, Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa announced Monday.

Department of Health AO No. 2024-0017 deletes the requirement for seniors to present a purchase booklet to drugstores, which before accompanied valid identification and a doctor's prescription, in order to get a discount.

"I am also a senior citizen. I know it is hard to always bring a purchase booklet with you. Seniors need the discount on their medicines, and we must make it easy for them to get that," Herbosa said in a statement.

"On behalf of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., we at the DOH give this gift of convenience and more affordable medicines to all of our senior citizens. Merry Christmas po!" he added.

SENIORS WELCOME NEW POLICY

Senior citizens praised the removal of the purchase booklet in availing medicine discounts, as some admitted forgetting to bring this most of the time when they buy in drugstores.

The Department of Health (DOH) earlier today announced scrapping the policy, as the government aimed to provide more affordable medicines, most especially to senior citizens.

Among those who will benefit from the move is Rosario Ortega, who has high blood pressure and diabetes. Ortega said there were times she forgot to bring the booklet and got refused by the drugstore because she did not have it.

“Maganda. Kasi kahit di mo dala booklet mo, mababawasan ka ng ano. Sa iba sa… di sila papayag na wala. Minsan kapag kunyari biglaan lang na daadaan ka sa –  hindi mo dala yun, hindi ka bibigyan ng discount,” said Ortega, 78.

This was also the situation of 82-year-old Norma Alaban.

“Okay lang yan kasi nalilimutan ko lagi. Okay na rin yun basta mayroon kang ano sa doctor ba. Pag hindi mo dala, magbabayad ka. Mabuti nang wala basta may reseta,” Alaban said.

For his part, Ramon Raniola admitted not having a purchase booklet at all, since a drugstore near him continues to give him discounts as long as he has a senior citizen ID.

“Ay opo. Malaking tulong. Hindi masyado abala,” said Raniola.

But experts urged the government for caution as this policy might bring out potential abuses from consumers.

POTENTIAL ABUSE

There should be a system in place before the government lifted this policy, said Leonila Ocampo, who is an Executive Committee Member of the International Pharmaceutical Federation.

“Ang abuso, mahirap hindi mo ma-control. While sabihin natin hindi naman 100 percent nakaka-control ang booklet but somehow it would deter some potential abuse that would happen kasi nakikita ko kung anong binili mo sa anumang botika,” Ocampo said.

The purchase booklet’s purpose was to monitor the medicine intake of a patient and for pharmacists to check if there was something unusual in the medicine that the patients were taking.

“Kung pupunta siya sa isang botika sa pharmacy, hindi ko nakikita kung anong binibili mo sa kabila? Mahirap na wala tayong kontrol on how much at ano na ang nabili ng ating mga kliyente. Dapat hindi siya tanggalin,” she said.

Crisfel Del Mundo, a drugstore owner, for his part, stressed the importance of a purchase booklet.

“Halimbawa sa botika pag nag-purchase ang senior citizen ng gamot, sinusulat namin dito sa botika ang kanilang binili alinsunod sa reseta ng doctor,” said Del Mundo, who owns PEL Pharma in Bulacan.

“In a way, yung nasa purchase order is another form of control from us na para sa pasyente o sa senior ang nakareseta sa doctor. Para in the event in the future, kapag bumili siya ng gamot, pwede namin i-backtrack sa purchase booklet,” he said.

He echoed Ocampo’s sentiments, but he instead reminded senior citizens to bring their valid ID and updated prescription.

“Mas convenient siya sa inyo kasi hindi niyo na kailangan dalhin ang purchase booklet at i-lista sa purchase booklet ninyo ang mga bibilhin niyo o binili niyong medication o gamot pero kailangan ng resetang valid o updated,” said Del Mundo.