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Saturday, June 07, 2008
Arroyo signs cheaper medicines bill
STA. CRUZ, Laguna -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday signed into law the cheaper medicines bill in a simple ceremony held at the Laguna Provincial Hospital.
She ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to immediately draw up the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) to ensure the immediate implementation of Republic Act 9502 or the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008."
Arroyo Watch: Sun.Star blog on President Arroyo
The new law aims to bring down the price of medicines by encouraging more competition in the local market through parallel importation of cheaper but quality drugs.
Arroyo said: "We all know about the importance of the Generics Law before, but it was incomplete. And now, the Cheaper Medicines and Quality bill, we have completed, I believe, our legislative reforms in bringing affordable medicines to the people."
She also thanked the lawmakers for finally passing the bill.
The President said the new law would ensure that medicines are affordable and "help bring us closer to the 2001 Sona (State of the Nation Address) pledge of universal access to essential medicines at half prices by 2010."
Those present during the event were Health Secretary Francisco Duque III; Trade Secretary Peter Favila; Senators Juliana Pilar Cayetano, Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr., and Manuel Roxas II; Representatives Arthur Defensor, Teodoro Locsin Jr., Edcel Lagman, Junie Cua, and Ferjenel Biron; and local government officials led by Laguna Governor Teresita Lazaro.
Roxas, who is the principal author of the bill, said that with the new law, all roadblocks and legal loopholes towards parallel importation of medicines had been removed.
According to him, the new law also helps "strengthen the Generics industry and strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD)" and provides safeguards to prevent the proliferation of fake drugs in the country.
He said despite the signing, his work does not end there, as he is committed to ensure that the IRR would soon be drawn up and implemented. The senator assured that no provisions of the law would be changed, amended or dissolved.
Biron meanwhile called for vigilance as the DOH completes the IRR. He said the health department had started to work on the IRR since the ratification of the bill in both Houses.
For his part, Duque said the DOH would now be able to expand the distribution of the cheaper medicines to ensure that it reaches the grassroots level.
He added that they would be accelerating efforts to expand Botika ng Barangay outlets with the end goal of putting up 15,000 outlets nationwide by 2010.
The new law amends parallel importation of patented medicines; grants new patents based only on newly discovered uses of a known drugs substance; allows local generics firms to test, produce, and register their generic versions of patented drugs, so these can be sold right upon patent expiry ("early working principle"); and allows government the use of patented drugs when the public interest is at stake.
It also provides the President the power to put price ceilings on various drugs, upon the recommendation of the health secretary, like those for chronic illnesses and prevention of diseases.
The cheaper medicines bill strengthens the BFAD "so that it could ensure the safety of medicines, by allowing it to retain its revenues for upgrading of its facilities, equipment and human resources."
The law likewise ensures the availability of affordable medicines by requiring drug outlets to carry a variety of brands for each drug, including those sourced from "parallel importation," to give the consumer more choices.
After the event, Arroyo flew to Biñan also in Laguna to visit the Amherst Laboratories, the newest subsidiary of United Laboratories (Unilab) Inc., where she personally thanked the company both for the production of cheap and quality medicines and helping build and rehabilitate important infrastructures like South Luzon Expressway.
"You built already for the interchange and save the government a lot of money," the President said, citing the Mamplasan Interchange, which Unilab has spent millions of pesos for its construction.
Arroyo also informed Unilab's top executives of the enactment of RA 9502, which she said, is the "realization" of her "dream to cut down the price of medicine in the country and bring it at the doorsteps of every Filipino." (JMR/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (June 7, 2008 issue)
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