I ran out of Meclizine for my travel back to the US. I had a long travel day ahead of me with an 11…read morehour layover in Korea, so I needed to get some pills. Luckily this Watsons was only a 2 minute walk from The Belmont Hotel. I headed to the counter and got my pills! This is a good sized Watsons. They have a nice section for personal care and beauty products. It looks fairly new so it was really nice and clean. As in most pharmacies or drugstore in the Philippines, you have to go to the counter and ask for the drugs you need from the clerk, even for OTC meds. They disburse them by the pill, so make sure you tell them how many pills you need.

Everyone knows Mercury Drug but everyone should also get to know The Generics Pharmacy as well. My…read moregrand father lives alone. It's his own choice. We do visit him often though. As an old person, he gets sick often and sometimes, not everyone is available at a certain moment of time to rush to the store to buy medicine for him. When this happens, he heads to The Generics Pharmacy to buy his medicine. Branches are everywhere so it's easily accessible to the public and most importantly, my lolo gets to save money. A lot of Filipinos can't really afford off the counter medicine as they can be pretty expensive, especially if you need to take them in a longer period of time. This pharmacy's advocacy is selling quality medicine in affordable prices so that everyone can have a more affordable option. They have even won an award under the Department of Health. So rest assured that The Generics Pharmacy is a trusted pharmaceutical brand.

This is such a great idea that I have to wonder why it isn't the standard. Drive through drug…read morestore. I repeat, DRIVE THROUGH DRUG STORE. No longer do I have to get dressed just to buy some ponstan; I can now get some diatabs while still in a bathrobe. It makes sense, after all. People who have to buy medicine know exactly what they want and how many they want, so there's no point in browsing. Forcing customers to park causes congestion and discourages potential customers when the lot is full. The drive through offers so much more convenience and likely drives up sales. I don't think I'll ever visit another drug store from now on, because this branch is just perfect. Next thing you know, we'll be able to send selfies with our prescriptions and have our pills delivered directly to our homes. Laziness wins again.

Mercury Drug Store along Ortigas Avenue is absolutely the best drug store in town. Not only is it…read morecomplete, with some food items and house items available, but it is also clean, well-lit and organized. I have been to many Mercury Drug Stores around the country and nothing compares to this branch. To top it all off, they have a DRIVE THROUGH window that makes everything even better. It's so convenient for those who can't find parking or for those who know what they want and just don't want to get out of their cars. This is definitely my favorite pharmacy in the Metro!

Nice little corner pharmacy were i needed to go because i had a very bad cold…read more The pharmacist was full of suggestions for decongestant and lozenges for my throat. Also you can buy distilled water and other items you usually find in a pharmacy.

There are a number of pharmacies in the Market! Market! area, but I still go to Metro Pharmacy…read morelocated in front of Metro Supermarket at the lower ground floor of the mall. Why? Because there's usually less people and no long queues of customers there. A big area of the pharmacy is allocated for non-prescription health and wellness section which sells vitamin supplements, protein shakes, and other herbal remedies. This is also where you can get over-the-counter medications, personal hygiene products, and even special haircare items. I like the fact that this pharmacy is quite strict with prescription medication. The pharmacists at the enclosed counter ask for prescription, dosage, and other important details to make sure that they dispense the right medication. They also suggest generic alternatives in case you are interested in saving money. Since the pharmacy is under Metro Gaisano, you can also get rewards for your purchases if you have a Metro Rewards card. This pharmacy is open daily during mall hours.

I bet many of us do not know that this is the original Mercury Drug store…read more The biggest pharmacy chain in the country started in this very spot. The reason I know this is my mom and her siblings used to "ration" meaning deliver food orders to the store when they were kids. My maternal grandma used to run a small panciteria along Bambang, walking distance from this store. Mom would recount how the pharmacy used to have a dispensing machine for Magnolia chocolait, and the owners would treat them to an endless supply, as much as they could consume, whenever they delivered food. Every day after school back when I was in elementary, I would walk from school to the panciteria, and would pass by Mercury Drug. At that time, we don't have any relationship with the owners anymore, because they've since become a chain operation. But it's nice to learn about this small bit of history. The neighborhood connections that tell a part of the story of the beginning of Mercury Drug.