ROXAS: EXEMPT IMPORTED MEDICINES FROM VAT, DUTIES
MAHALAGA ANG KALUSUGAN NG BAWAT PINOY

The sale and importation of medicines and its basic raw materials and of medical equipment should be exempt from the coverage of the value-added tax (VAT) and the imposition of import duties to make health care more affordable to Filipinos, Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas has said.

"Mahalaga ang kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino (Every Filipino's health is important)," he said in filing Senate Bill No. 3128, which seeks to exempt the sale or importation of drugs, medicines, pharmaceutical products and related raw materials and medical, dental and hospital equipment and instruments from VAT and import duties.

"Maiging tiyakin natin na mas abot-kaya ng ating mga kababayan ang mga serbisyong medikal (We must guarantee that health care is affordable to our people)," he added.

He said SB 3128 would further lower the cost of health care in the country, following the enactment into law of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, which he authored, which intends to bring down the cost of essential drugs and medicines by relaxing patent laws on parallel importation.

The Ilonggo senator noted that most of the pharmaceutical companies in the country do not produce active drug substances and instead, import the raw materials from chemical producers abroad for local manufacture of the finished products.

These imported raw materials are imposed with 3% to 5% import duties and a 12% VAT on the sales of their finished products are collected by government.

Medical equipment such as those used for dialysis, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), chemotherapy and CT-scan are 100% imported and are subject to the same import duties and VAT.

"The high cost of importing these equipment translates to the cost of specialized medical examination and treatments...being far beyond the reach of the ordinary Filipino," Roxas noted.

"Tariffs and value-added tax on medicines and medical equipment are highly regressive and burdens the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of our society. Removing the tariffs and VAT that keep essential medicines and medical equipment out of the hands of the poorest of the poor should therefore be a priority of this government," he stressed.

He insisted that removing the import duties and VAT on medicines and medical equipment would effectively lower the costs of goods directly related to health care, which manufacturers and distributors could then pass on to benefit consumers through the sale of cheaper drugs and delivery of medical services.

Under the proposed measure, the exemption of imported drugs, medicines, pharmaceutical products and related raw materials and medical, dental and hospital equipment and instruments from tariff and duties should be accompanied by a certificate of eligibility or accreditation issued by the Department of Health, particularly the Bureau of Food and Drugs and the Bureau of Health Devices and Technology.

The Implementing Rules and Regulations of the proposed bill shall be crafted by the secretary of the Department of Finance, with the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Tariff Commission.

Public officials or private individuals who willfully or knowingly refuses or fails to implement the proposed measure shall be perpetually disqualified from public office and face imprisonment of not less than six years but not more than 15 years.

"Magtulungan tayo. Responsibilidad ng pamahalaan na siguruhing malusog ang ating bansa (Let us work together. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure a healthy republic)," Roxas said.