The Philippines has a large and well-developed pharmaceutical sector with a focus on production of generic medicines. Pharmaceutical regulation through the Philippines Food and Drug Administration is affected by resource constraints and substandard and counterfeit medicines remain a problem. Challenges to the supply of medicines include a decentralised public health system and chronic underfunding with the private sector playing an important role in access to medicines. The Department of Health maintains medicines access programs, and local government units provide services within their jurisdictions. National health insurance under PhilHealth covers about 82% of the population and is expanding out-patient pharmaceutical benefits. There is limited price regulation. The National Medicines Policy supports generic medicines and there has been a growth in generics-only pharmacies. However, appropriate use of medicines is a concern. Pharmaceutical care is underdeveloped and the professional role of the pharmacist is not well recognised. Despite these challenges, recent investments by the government in health and medicines seek to make quality medicines available and affordable to support Universal Health Coverage.