Ducky Paredes

“(T)he more important and strategic agenda is to develop and strengthen a domestic pharmaceutical industry, which could support the government in lowering the price of medicines.”

by Ducky Paredes

Risa Hontiveros, the AKBAYAN party-list congresswoman has a good take on the three pending bills that would all address the fact of overpriced medicines in this country. She says: “It was the three-way fight between time, drug price regulation and amendments to the patents law that killed the cheaper medicines bill during the 13th Congress. The same scenario should be avoided.
“The fundamental unity should be passage of amendments to the IPC (International Patent Classification) and the establishment of an effective price regulatory mechanism. Let’s not make the situation advantageous to pharmas. Furthermore, let us keep politics off cheaper medicines.
“The truth is, despite being labeled as ‘cheaper medicines’ bill, no bill filed in the 14th Congress could single-handedly lower the price of medicines. A more comprehensive legislation is necessary to bring down the exorbitant price of medicines in the country. Neither price regulation nor patents amendments could deliver cheaper medicines on its own.”
Actually we need all of the pending bills to be made into law. Amendments to the IPC would cover patented drugs, especially maintenance medicines, but not those that have expired patents already. For these essential medicines without an unexpired patent, price regulation is necessary. But, says Hontiveros, “any mechanism for price regulation “would be for naught in the absence of policies that would enforce transparency on the pricing of drugs. The State should be able to compel multinational pharmas to reveal their pricing mechanism.”
She also said that she would propose changes in the Drug Prices Regulation Board that would be formed under the pending bill. “Off hand, we believe that the Board should be headed by the Secretary of the Department of Health, not by the DTI Secretary. The primacy of health should be established, and our message should be clear: public health is not an issue of trade; it is a question of human entitlements. The role of pharmaceuticals, particularly multinational ones, should also be limited. We believe that having them represented as full members in the Board would contradict the mandate of the Board.
“Additionally, the more important and strategic agenda is to develop and strengthen a domestic pharmaceutical industry, which could support the government in lowering the price of medicines. That, in turn, can only happen by boosting support for traditional and herbal medicines, and using this as a platform to establish a fine chemical industry that can actually manufacture and produce medicines,” Rep. Hontiveros says.
The congresswoman makes a lot of sense. With so many ideas o the table, however, it is so easy for the pharmas to choose and pick where to fight today’s battle. We will find no solution to the number one killer in the Philippines – the high cost of medicines – unless our legislators can work together to do this one thing for the people – eliminating the greatest danger to the health of us Pinoys – the high cost of medication!
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Poor misunderstood Commission on Elections (COMELEC). The COMELEC en banc found Lintang Bedol, its infamous supervisor for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao guilty of indirect contempt. And, instead of any sane comment on their action, here come all of those who have no understanding of the limits of the Commission’s powers dumping on the commission.
They want Chairman Ben Abalos head on a silver platter after a swift impeachment. Why, they ask, was he not charged with electoral sabotage that carries a punishment of life imprisonment? Why is the Comelec allowing Bedol to get away? Why is the COMELEC coddling election saboteurs?
What did the COMELEC do? Actually, it did what it could. Bedol was sentenced by the en banc to six months in the Manila City Jail and fined a thousand pesos. Bedol made bail and is now free to appeal his case before higher courts.
Could the COMELEC have done more? Actually, it is doing just that. The Law Department was also charged by the en banc to find out what other laws Bedol may have violated with the end in view of prosecuting their official in the regular courts.
Certainly, a charge of electoral sabotage under the election automation law (RA 8436) is a real possibility.
For myself, I am actually a bit surprised that the commission even found their man guilty even of just indirect contempt. That only shows that those who now berate the COMELEC probably held it in even higher esteem than I do.
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Why does President Gloria send off a medical team from the V. Luna Medical Center who are on the way to Basilan to attend to evacuees with a threat to the people of Basilan that is actually quite meaningless.
Gloria scares no one when she sends off the medics with these words: “These medical professionals are on a mission of compassion. Harm them, and Hades will come to you.”
She ought to realize that words – especially hers – will not scare anyone, especially not the Abu Sayyaf, the MILF or any of the bandit gangs that rule over that territory.
Doesn’t she remember that when she told the Abu Sayyaf that all it would take was one bullet to do them in “Isang Bala Ka Lang!” – the gang actually became stronger and pulled off even more crimes?
People like the Abu Sayyaf and other bandits will not scare easy. They will run away, though from a superior force. That is the only language that they understand. Thus, we can only hope that these bandits did not hear Gloria when she made that veiled threat. They are just crazy enough to do evil on these military medics just to see what Gloria’s vision of Hades is really like. Then, if they do that, what could Gloria and all the Queen’s Horses and all the Queen’s men do to show them who’s boss? I can’t think of anything that they could do that would – unless they were willing to torch the countryside and to take no prisoners – an act that for all our sakes, I hope they are not capable of doing.
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hvp (08.07.07)