Buying your medicines,

if it is simple over-the-counter medicines or special prescribed medicines, it can be an expensive experience. Finding the cheapest place is difficult because Pharmacies in the Philippines all set their own prices.
Many medicines are also available in Generic Brands. In general they are also perfect to use. One thing though, check for the ‘active’ ingredients and the dosage you need.
If your desired / prescribed medicine is not available in the Philippines, you may want to check this page and you will be convinced that Generic medicines are as good as branded.
Do a Google search for your medicines and try to find generic brand names. Often you will find out which brands are available in the Philippines.

Pharmacies in the Philippines

There are Pharmacies all over the country. It is hard so walk two blocks without seeing one. On practically every street corner there is a pharmacy. In Markets, malls and smaller shopping centers, you’ll find them everywhere.
But be careful.
We would advise you to buy your medicines in one of the pharmacies listed here. Smaller, independent pharmacies have been selling illegal or falsified medicines, over expiry date medicines or medicines which are not approved by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration.

Some of the most known Pharmacies in the Philippines in random order:

• The Generics Pharmacy
  TGP has dotted the entire archipelago with more than strong 1600+ outlets and will have 2000 by the end of 2015. It is a good place to start your search for your prescribed medicines, but generics.
• Mercury Drug
  Mercury Drug claims to be the leading Pharmacist in the Philippines. They have over 1000 stores, all over the country. If you need prescribed medicines and other pharmacies do not have them, try Mercury. They might be a little more expensive, but good. And you can always ask if they have generic brands.
  If you are a regular customer you should get a so called ‘Suki card’. For every purchase of medicines and other items in the store you will get points. These points (if you have saved enough) can be used to buy new items.Mercury offers also online ordering and home delivery.
• Rose Pharmacy
  Rose Pharmacy originates from Cebu and claims to have nearly 200 branches spread over the country, but not on Luzon and Palawan. They also have an online ordering and home delivery service.
• Watsons
  Watsons can be found in many malls and shopping centers. The chain has over 2500 stores in SE-Asia, and over 400 in the Philippines.
• South Star Drug
  South Star Drug can be found on over 250 locations in various parts of Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Metro Manila and the Bicol Region. They also have a ‘Tipid’ card to save points for new purchases.
• Generica Pharmacy
  Generica is a smaller chain of Pharmacies, offering branded and generic medicines.

ONLINE Pharmacy

• Philippine Pharmacy
  This pharmacy sells on line only, but if they have your specialized medicines, is hard to tell. It seems their assortment is not that big.