Press Release
March 3, 2009

ROXAS SCORES SLOW, WRONG IMPLEMENTATION OF CHEAP MEDS LAW

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today scored Malacanang's slow and wrong implementation of the new Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act (RA 9502), pointing out that this is the reason why millions of Filipinos still cannot find cheap but quality branded medicines in drugstores nationwide.

"Mahalaga ang kalusugan ng bawat mamamayan. Hindi uubra dito ang pagkukunwari ng gobyerno na ginagawa nito ang lahat para maibaba ang presyo ng mga gamot pero nakikita naman natin na hindi ito totoo. Hindi ito panahon para mag-bolahan tayo," Roxas, chairman of the Quality Affordable Medicines Oversight Committee said.

Roxas is the primary author of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act (RA 9502), which became law on June last year while its' Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) was approved by President Arroyo on November 4, 2008.

During the first hearing of the Joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Quality Affordable Medicines, Roxas pointed out that the DOH based its list of the maximum retail price for essential medicines on a wrong interpretation of the law.

He pointed to the admission of Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla that medicines in the MRP list prepared by the DOH used prices of branded medicines against generic versions, instead of branded medicines that could be imported under the law by the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC).

Padilla angered Roxas when he admitted before the congressional oversight committee that the DOH thought the MRP list cannot use the prices of imported branded medicines. "We thought it was not possible for us to buy Norvasc and other branded medicines," he said during the hearing.

To which, a shocked Roxas replied: "That's why we crafted this law, to give government a larger role in the market place for these essential medicines. Legislators decided government must play a more active role in this. We told you, you must intervene."

He pointed out that under the new law, the DoH, together with the PITC and the Bureau of Food and Drugs, had been allowed to engage in parallel importation of medicines, particularly the branded ones that are sold at exorbitant prices by local branches of multinational drug companies.

Roxas said the Cheaper Medicines Law allowed parallel importation because multinational drug companies sell their medicines in Philippine drugstores at prices five to ten times higher than those sold by the same companies in other countries, particularly India.

"Precisely, the law wanted the government to compete with the private sector. You should review your processes and buy medicines that would not only compete with generic drugs with branded medicines as well. If necessary, we will go with you to the Procurement Policy Board and ask them to fully liberate you from the restricted regulations of the government and allow you to import medicines more aggressively," he said.

Padilla told committee members that "we did not realize that that was our principal objective."

Also, Roxas called for a review of the criteria used by the DoH in determining which medicines should be placed under the MRP mechanism as he scored health officials for prioritizing insulin and anti-cancer drugs, which he said, are not among those that are frequently prescribed in areas most often diagnosed with ailments.

"Why not Norvasc or other hypertensive medicines? We are not saying that insulins and anti-cancer drugs are not important but more Filipinos are afflicted with hypertension and this is a common ailment nationwide," he said, noting figures from the DoH itself that about 9 million Filipinos (21% of the adult population) are hypertensive.

The senator said the DoH should not hesitate to go against giant pharmaceutical firms in implementing the law.

"What's so holy about Norvasc and Pfizer? It's now legal for the DoH to import medicines with trademarks and patents. If it insists it cannot do so, then it cannot stop people from thinking that this government is protecting the interests of these companies over the interests of a healthy republic," he said.

"Patuloy nating pupukpukin ang gobyerno para sa mabilisang pagpapatupad ng batas na ito. Mahalagang maibaba natin kaagad ang presyo ng ating mga gamot nang sa gayon ay mas maraming mga mamamayan ang makinabang dito," Roxas said.

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