Press Release
January 19, 2009

ROXAS PUSHES AGGRESSIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF CHEAPER MEDS

The Arroyo administration should aggressively implement the new Cheaper Medicines law to give the public immediate relief from the high cost of healthcare, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said today.

He said the positive impact of the law has been tempered due to delays in its implementation brought about by the slow action of the Department of Health (DoH).

"Ipinaglaban natin ito ng halos 10 taon. Kinalaban tayo ng mga pharmaceutical companies kasi ang gusto nila mataas ang singil nila dito sa atin. Ngayong meron na tayong batas, mahina pa din ang implementasyon. Kaya kinakalampag natin ang gobyerno para maramdaman na ito ng ating mga kababayan (I fought for this for 10 years. I fought against pharmaceutical companies that insisted on keeping their prices high. Now that the law has been enacted, implementation is really slow. That's why I'm asking the government to act now)," he said.

He said agencies, like the DoH, the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) and the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC), have already been allocated sufficient funds under the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 for the immediate implementation of the law.

"Binigyan na natin sila ng kasangkapan. Kung sa karpentero ito, meron ng martilyo, lagare, lahat ng kasangkapan meron na. Gamitin nila lahat itong nasa tool box nila para makapagbigay sila ng magandang healthcare dito sa atin (We have given them everything they need. If they are carpenters, we have furnished them with hammers, saws and other equipments for their job. They just need to use the items in their tool box so they can give our countrymen a responsive healthcare system)," he also said.

He added: "Ang mahalaga ay maging decisive, maging aggressive, magkaroon ng kamay na bakal ang Department of Health kasi sila naman ang pangunahing ahensiya na magpapatupad nito (What is important is for the Department of Health to be decisive, aggressive and to be firm because it is the primary implementing agency)."

The Ilonggo senator said he would ask the Senate committees on health and trade and commerce to probe why the DoH is slow to implement the law.

He said he also wants to find out Health Secretary Francisco Duque why the DoH has not come up with the maximum retail price (MRP) list that it is supposed to submit to Congress for review and approval by the end of this month.

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