MANILA, Philippines — Makati City is expanding its free medicines program to include more than 30,000 senior citizens aged 60 to 69 and registered persons with disabilities (PWDs), Mayor Abby Binay announced Friday.
Under the enhanced initiative, 15,149 senior citizens and 15,748 PWDs will now receive full doses of multivitamins and maintenance medications at no cost. Previously, only residents aged 70 and above were entitled to full monthly supplies, while other groups — including younger seniors, PWDs, and city employees — were given only half-month allowances.
The medicines will be made available at Planet Drugstores in barangay health centers, Ospital ng Makati (OsMak), and the Makati Life Medical Center.
“This enhanced program represents a major step forward in my administration’s commitment to providing accessible healthcare for its most vulnerable residents,” Mayor Binay said in a statement.
The city government has highlighted its long-standing investments in public health, reporting nearly five million healthcare interactions provided to almost two million patients over Binay’s nine-year term. OsMak, the city’s flagship public hospital, boasts a 92-percent recovery rate and continues to offer a wide range of medical services.
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The city also operates special programs for chronic and critical conditions. Its Unli Dialysis program has served 32,951 patients since 2017, while the Ambulatory Chemotherapy Program has provided subsidized cancer treatment to 11,364 qualified individuals since its launch in September of the same year.
