On August 7, 2026, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has announced additional lists of medicines with Value-Added Tax (VAT) exemptions for increasing an accessible and affordable medicine care for Filipinos. This announcement was from the Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 087-2026, an update from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from the Department of Health. The memorandum circular states that medicines with VAT exemption have now reached 2,277 with added 14 new medicine coverage.
This number is an increase for the previous 2,263 list of VAT-free medicines from April 2026. The updated VAT-free medicine list now covers expanded treatments for: Cancer, Hypertension, Diabetes, Mental Illness, High Cholesterol, Kidney Disease, and Tuberculosis. This coverage is a huge relief for Filipinos battling chronic illnesses. For most, chronic illnesses require constant treatments which come in many forms of medicine technology. Days, weeks, and months are spent by patients covering financial obligations just to keep up with the treatment – inpatient hospital stay bills, surgery costs, specialized treatment fees, and medicine costs are only few examples of the financial burden the patient or their family faces in a time of crisis.
2025 statistics report about the projected 2026 Global Medicine Trend Survey shows that the Philippines is among the highest in Asia with expensive medicine costs, placing at number 3 at 16.1%, just lagging behind two powerhouse countries, Singapore at number one and Taiwan at number 3. This number of projections was derived from factors of new medical technologies and the rise of tariffs, causing more expensive imports and ultimately resulting in added costs for imported medicines.
BIR’s initiative to provide VAT exemption for the 2,277 list of medicines can be a big help for the people struggling. Money saved from the usual VAT can now be utilized in buying other health necessities and exploring additional forms of treatment. Further, this act encourages an affordable healthcare culture and creates an advocacy for improving quality of life for many people.
What is Value-Added Tax (VAT) and how does it work?
Value-Added Tax is additional tax applied for every step of the supply chain, from the manufacturers and to the sale of goods. VAT is a broad-based consumption tax and applies to imported goods, domestic services, and local goods. For people, VAT is not paid and settled by a once-in-a-month billing process, VAT is collected by the government through indirect way – products that are normally bought has VAT included by the government, then the consumer buys the product with VAT added, and lastly the businesses collect the overall payment from consumers and separate the VAT and remits to the government.
In the Philippines, the VAT stays in a 12% standard fixed rate, but exemptions also apply for Senior Citizens and Persons with Disability (PWD) as they are included in VAT-free prescription medicine access and 20% discount.
Accessible and affordable healthcare for all Filipinos
The government’s effort for accessibility of healthcare for Filipinos does not begin with BIR’s VAT exemption for 2,277 medicines, other healthcare program is also introduced. In 2026, the following government programs have been rolled out:
- Philhealth YAKAP Program – also known as Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) is a healthcare service implemented by Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth) wherein members are provided free access to medical consultations, laboratory examination, cancer screenings, and medicine provision under the accredited YAKAP care providers. To ensure the accessibility of the program in 2026, there are 4,434 accredited YAKAP clinics in the country.
- Philhealth GAMOT Program – connected to the YAKAP program, the GAMOT (Guaranteed and Accessible Medications for Outpatient Treatment) aims to provide members and qualified dependents for PHP 20,000 free outpatient medications.
- Department of Health MAIFIP Program – The Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated Patients (MAIFIP) is rolled out by DOH to provide financial assistance for Filipino Indigents with no source of income and Financially Incapacitated Patients or patients facing serious illness which depletes their source of income.
From media to Filipino homes
For the government, the real challenge is disseminating the information of the said programs and ensuring that information reaches deep and rural communities which are in need of accessible healthcare. Through media, health services providers can now provide information in real-time to many communities. Traditional mass media (radios and television) is now sued for transmitting information in forms of advertisements, informational news and documentary, commentary, and etc. Which can boost influence. Advanced advertising such as social media use for disseminating information has also become the norm today.
In a digital era, information can now travel and be received in real time by anyone, anywhere.
DOPAY, relieving financial burden to Filipinos
While DOPAY is not a healthcare service provider, nor has rolled out healthcare services, DOPAY is an application which aims to reduce financial burden to Filipinos. DOPAY is licensed by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as an Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) and Virtual Assets Services Provider (VASP).
DOPAY offers services powered by blockchain technology, committing fast and real time transfers. By using DOPAY, fund transfers for sending remittances, bill payments, etc. Can be done instantly, with low costs and minimum of PHP 0 transfer fees for DOPAY users. The DOPAY e-wallet also guarantees that anyone can carry and access their funds anywhere and have cashless withdrawal. For Filipinos away from their families, sending remittances by low remittance transfer fees and no processing time is made easy by DOPAY.
In addition, DOPAY also recently launched its own Video Affiliate Program, where anyone can review the DOPAY application and provide a 15-second video and have a chance to win PHP 3,000 in ETH (Ethereum).
To join the DOPAY community, be a DOPAY user and invite your friends by joining our DOPAY Referral Program! Referrer can get PHP 70 in ETH and referred users can get PHP 30 in ETH. Here in DOPAY, we provide ways for Filipinos to earn money in a legitimate way and to also provide solutions for less financial burdens for the people.
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