Supplies of medicines for symptomatic treatment like those for cough, colds and fever, are expected to normalize "over the weekend", a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said on Monday.

"We are anticipating that over the weekend the situation will normalize because the supply will reach the distribution channels, the major drugstores," Trade and Industry consumer protection group Assistant Secretary Ann Claire Cabochan said during the ''Laging Handa'' virtual public briefing on Monday.

"The DTI has good coordination with the manufacturers and, of course, the DTI also has a good coordination with the Department of Health (DOH). We’re working very closely with them on this issue," she said.

Cabochan said medicines temporarily went out of stock due to sudden demand last month.

"On the part of the manufacturers, because we maintain that it is not a supply issue, in fact, one of our local manufacturers has the capacity to produce almost 60 million tablets a month. That is why we know that we just had a temporary stock out because the demand increased towards the end of December," she said.

"Now that the replenishment has been made and there is more than enough supply, we can say that the manufacturers will continue to produce as they have in the past," she added. Robina Asido/DMS