Press Release
April 21, 2010

MORE CHEAPER, QUALITY MEDICINES, ROXAS ASSURES

Liberal Party (LP) President and vice-presidential race frontrunner Senator Mar Roxas II today said he and LP presidential bet Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III will ensure prices of more essential medicines will be reduced immediately as a priority program of an Aquino-Roxas administration.

As such, the Aquino-Roxas administration will fast-track the implementation of Republic Act No. 9502 or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 that seeks to cut by half prices of essential medicines such as anti-hypertensive, anti-cancer, anti-asthma and antibiotics, among others.

"We vow to continue the fight for more medicines to be included in the list of Government Mediated Access Price," stressed Roxas, primary author of the law and considered the Father of Cheaper Medicines.

Following the enactment of the law, the price of maintenance drug for Lipitor (anti-cholesterol) was brought down to P50 from P100 per tablet, and anti-diabetes Diamicron, was now priced at P7.50 from P15.

"Savings from buying Diamicron alone are almost equivalent to half a kilo of rice a day. That's why this is an important legislation and we will ensure that pharmaceutical companies will comply with the law," Roxas said.

Aside from the Cheaper Medicines Law, he also said that an Aquino-Roxas administration would ensure that 100% of Filipinos would be covered by state health insurer Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).

Currently, only 40% of Filipinos are covered by PhilHealth, Roxas revealed, as he noted that the original intent of Republic Act 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995 was not realized.

"It is a priority. We have a program called universal health care which means that all people will have equal access to PhilHealth," he added.

Roxas said that their health care program goes hand-in-hand with modernizing the education, pump priming the economy, creating more jobs and strengthening the agricultural sector.

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