Press Release
July 18, 2009

ROXAS TO GMA: WHERE'S LIST OF CHEAP MEDS?
DEADLINE EXPIRES WITHOUT PALACE EO ON PRICE CEILINGS

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas today asked Malacañang to answer a simple question: Where is the list of the essential medicines that pharmaceutical companies volunteered to sell at lower prices to skirt a presidential directive on price ceilings on medicines?

"Nasaan na ang listahan ng mga gamot na pwede na nating bilhin sa abot-kayang halaga sa mga botika? (Where is the list of medicines the people can but at affordable prices in drugstores)," demanded Roxas as a deadline for voluntary compliance by pharmaceutical companies with the Cheaper Medicines Law expired today.

"Ang tagal na nating nag-aantay. Deadline na ngayon, pero wala pa rin (We waited a long time for this. The deadline is today, but we see no cheaper medicines list yet)," the Visayan senator added.

Roxas said his impatience is made more intense by the apparent failure of the voluntary compliance deal worked out by President Arroyo with pharmaceutical companies. Under that deal, pharmaceutical companies were supposed to submit by today a list of medicines they volunteer to be sold at slashed prices.

But the latest reports from Malacanñang showed that the pharmaceutical companies did not even include any of the 22 medicines that the health department sought to be placed under price ceilings in the list of medicines these companies volunteered to sell at lower prices.

Roxas has criticized Mrs. Arroyo for favoring voluntary compliance with the Cheaper Medicines Law instead of imposing a maximum retail price on medicines. An executive order imposing the price ceiling is awaiting Mrs. Arroyo's signature since June 16.

Some of the drugs whose prices will be halved under the EO are the anti-hypertensive Norvasc (to P22.50 from the present P44.50), anti-diabetic Diamicron (to P7.35 from P14.75), antibiotic Augmentin suspension 60 ml (to P179.50 from P359), among others.

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