The Philippine Universal Health Care (UHC) Law guarantees equitable access to quality health services and essential medicines for all Filipinos. However, complex gaps persist.
Recognizing that bridging this divide requires collective action, leaders from the government, academe, civil society, patient groups, and the private sector recently convened. Their mission was to identify actionable reforms focused on achieving a resilient supply chain, sustainable financing, and reliable data to ultimately unlock better and faster access to innovative medicines and vaccines for everyone.
On November 4, 2025, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP) and UHC Watch hosted a multi-sectoral dialogue aimed at advancing Universal Health Care for better access to innovative medicines and vaccines, held at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City.
Present at the event were representatives from the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
PHAP Executive Director Teodoro Padilla emphasized that medicine access ‘is not only a health issue; it is a systems issue,’ highlighting the need for strong financing, supply chains, and regulatory systems to support UHC.
Two key reports
TWO recent, complementary studies-ADB-ThinkWell’s ‘Strengthening the Medicine Access Pathway’ and PHAP’s ‘Pathways to Inclusive Access’-provide crucial evidence and recommendations for improving UHC. These reports anchored the dialogue, as both underlined the importance of policy coherence, evidence-based decision-making, and strategic public-private collaboration to strengthen UHC implementation.
The ADB-ThinkWell study revealed significant barriers to medicine access, citing issues such as regulatory bottlenecks, fragmented procurement, and supply chain vulnerabilities. To address this, the study recommended not only stronger governance, FDA modernization, and strategic purchasing, but also establishing stronger, coordinated institutional mechanisms to overcome fragmentation and achieve effective, universal medicine access.
PHAP’s research, on the other hand, focused on financial and operational needs, highlighting the necessity to increase health budgets, strengthen procurement using real-time data, and integrate real-world evidence into Health Technology Assessment (HTA) to accelerate patient access.
Insights from key government agencies
DBM Undersecretary Rolando Toledo cited infrastructure investment and procurement reform as keys to achieving UHC, particularly through the new Government Procurement Act (RA 1209). The landmark law introduces digital platforms like eMarketplace, promotes pooled procurement, and shifts government purchasing from simply selecting the lowest bid to awarding the most advantageous and responsive offer, one that values quality, innovation, and transparency.
For her part, Atty. Sofia C. Yanto-Abad, OIC Director General, Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB), said the new Government Procurement Act is transforming public procurement from a bureaucratic service into a strategic, professionalized governance function to achieve better health outcomes.
Strengthening supply chain
From the DOH, Dr. Fides Buenafe shared updates on strengthening supply chain systems and expanding the Electronic Logistics Management Information System (eLMIS) down to local facilities by 2026. PhilHealth’s Dr. Alfred De Dios presented the YAKAP initiative, aimed at shifting the system toward preventive, primary care.
DTI Undersecretary Mary Jean Pacheco reinforced that the framework for effective supply chain management exists; the priority now is implementation and fast collaboration across sectors.
‘The formula of supply chain management is already there. The question is the execution of it. And how quickly we, as government and the private sector, will agree to work together,’ she continued.
Closing the dialogue, Padilla stressed that delivering UHC requires evidence-based policymaking, coordination, and accountability. He emphasized three critical priorities: strengthening health financing and strategic purchasing, improving procurement and supply chain systems, and harnessing data for informed healthcare decisions.