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Complete List of Mercury Drug Stores in Bulacan 2022

December 9, 2022
OJ Maño

Mercury Drug Corporation, better known as Mercury Drug, is a Philippine pharmacy chain. Mercury Group of Companies subsidiary is located in Bagumbayan, Quezon City. The chain was established in Santa Cruz, Manila, in 1945, making it the second oldest pharmacy chain in the Philippines after Southstar Drug.

Mercury Drug is the largest pharmacy chain providing the broadest range of branded and generic medicines and a complete line of healthcare and personal care products, including medical devices and basic everyday needs. Through the years, Mercury Drug has opened store after store all over the country to bring medicines within easy reach of its customers. Today, it has grown into a vast network of more than 1,200 stores nationwide with over 15,000 employees who are continuously trained in product knowledge and customer service.

Mariano Que and Mercury Drug

Mercury Drug
Mariano Que – founder of Mercury Drug Corporation

Mr. Mariano Que, a former pharmacy worker, is the founder of Mercury Drug store. The company began by selling sulfathiazole medicine tablets, considered a wonder drug during the Japanese occupation. During that time, Manila was war-stricken, and medicines were scarce and expensive. Sulfathiazole used to be a common oral and topical antimicrobial drug. It was said to be effective against pathogenic microorganisms used to manage and treat many bacterial infections. This drug is no longer used in humans but in cattle and other animals.

The store began to cut packages, many items in one piece, and sell them individually; this retail practice is called ‘tingi-tingi‘ in Filipino. It is the second oldest operating drugstore chain in the country after Southstar Drug, founded eight years ago.

Mr. Que named it Mercury Drug, after the Roman god Mercury, known for his agility, and the symbol of the medical industry, the caduceus. He supported the company’s development all the time; today, it is one of the most famous pharmacies in the country. His company may not have been the first pharmacy in the country, but his vision of the pharmaceutical industry set the stage for everything that followed.

At the invitation of the Ayala Corporation, Mercury Drug opened its second branch in May 1963 in the company’s thriving business center in Makati, now known as Ayala Center. A self-service concept was introduced in this branch, which became the current model for all components.

In 1965, Mercury Drug established its landmark branch at Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, Manila, across from the Quiapo Church, now famous for its large outdoor LED screen. In the same year, the company also introduced 24-hour store schedules. It later expanded to Visayas and Mindanao, where it started in 1976.

As of 2017, Mercury Drug reportedly has more than 1,000 locations nationwide. In early 2010, it opened a new building, MDC100, located in Eastwood City, Quezon City.

There are urban legends about why there are no Mercury drug stores in SM Malls. One story says that Henry Sy, the shoe salesman who would eventually build SM Supermalls, was turned down for a leased space to sell shoes at Mercury Drug, while he also said that Sy remembered and got Watsons as a pharmacy.

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In 2002, Henry Sy’s daughter, Teresita Sy-Coson, a Bulakenya, wrote in The Philippine Star that her father and Mariano Que “were good friends and that friendship extends to family members.”

Mercury Drug
Photo of the Mercury Drug Store in Daraga, Albay

You read it right; Teresita Sy-Coson is a Bulakenya based on her birth certificate. She was born in Plaridel, Bulacan, in October 1950.

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She also said the two companies could not agree on rental rates, which is the “only reason” there is no Mercury drug store in SM malls. Similarly, Mercury Drug said in an official statement that they “have great respect for Mr. Henry Sy and SM Enterprise” and “respect each other’s business efforts and maintain a friendly relationship with each other.”

Mercury Drug also owns the popular Tropical Hut food chain. From the 1960s to the 1970s, it was the nation’s largest fast-food hamburger chain.

Mariano Que, the founder of Mercury Drug, died last April 14, 2017. He was 96.

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List of Mercury Drug Stores in Bulacan

  • Balagtas McArthur Highway
  • Balagtas Town Center
  • Baliuag Mabini
  • Baliuag Poblacion
  • Baliuag Puregold
  • Bocaue McArthur Highway
  • Bulacan Prestines Commercial Complex – Bulakan
  • Calumpit St. Peter Commercial Center
  • Guiguinto Puregold
  • Guiguinto Waltermart Center
  • Hagonoy Poblacion
  • Malolos McArthur Highway (Crossing)
  • Malolos McArthur Highway Puregold
  • Malolos City Plaza (Bayan)
  • Malolos City Sumapang Matanda (Beside Robinsons Mall)
  • Malolos City Waltermart
  • Marilao McArthur Highway
  • Marilao Paza Cecilia
  • Meycauayan City EMA Town Center
  • Meycauayan City Malhacan
  • Meycauayan City McArthur Highway
  • Meycauayan City Plaza
  • Meycauayan City Sto. Nino
  • Norzagaray Poblacion
  • Obando Pag-asa
  • Plaridel Cagayan Valley Road
  • Plaridel Tabang
  • Plaridel Waltermart
  • Pulilan Poblacion
  • Pulilan Sto. Cristo
  • San Ildefonso Cagayan Valley Road
  • San Jose Del Monte City Muzon
  • San Jose Del Monte City Sapang Palay Sampol
  • San Jose Del Monte City StarMall
  • San Jose Del Monte City Tungkong Mangga
  • San Miguel Poblacion
  • San Miguel Poblacion Tecson
  • Sta. Maria Bypass Road Waltermart
  • Sta. Maria Bypass Road
  • Sta. Maria C. De Guzman
  • Sta. Maria Caypombo (Norzagaray-Sta. Maria Road)
  • Sta. Maria Poblacion
  • Sta. Maria Pulong Buhangin

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