Cheap drugs bill giving false hopes to Pinoys lawmaker

A lawmaker called the final version of the Cheaper Medicine Bill yesterday “too diluted” that it would give “false hopes” to the people after it becomes law as the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act.

Surigao del Sur Rep. Philip Pichay said the version of Senators Manuel Roxas II and Pia Cayetano, which removed the generics-only and price regulatory board provisions, will “at most” only “delay the price increases” of big pharmaceutical industries.

“Unfortunately, the provision was thrown down the drain, together with the last vestige of the measures’ effectiveness,” he said.

“(The bill) which started out as a noble vision, lost much of its promise and potency along the way until its ratification by Congress.”

Pichay, House of Representatives committee on health vice chairman, said “the resulting change in the people’s perspective would impact on consumer behavior,” encouraging them to try generics and shake up the pharmaceutical market.

“Because it lacks teeth, its noble objectives will remain as mere objectives,” he said.

“This lamentable outcome of the much-hyped bill renders nugatory the people’s constitutional right to health and only fuels false hope that things are about to change for the better.

“The Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008, which has yet to be signed by President Arroyo into law, only fuels false hope for our people. The title is misleading and the body is feeble.”       – With Christina Paguinto