Review of cheaper medicine law sought

MANILA, Philippines – Have medicines really become cheaper?

Nine years after its passage, one of the original authors of the Cheaper Medicines Law in the House of Representatives wants a “comprehensive review” of the law whose main objective was to make medicines accessible to all.

Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron, a doctor by profession, said it is about time Congress make an assessment of how Republic Act 9502 – otherwise known as the Universal and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 – fared or how was it implemented in the past years.

“As principal author of RA 9502, I believe that our duty does not end after the bill has been signed into law. It is a matter of personal commitment on my part to see to it that it will actually redound to the benefit of the Filipino people,” he said.

Biron observed the law has not yet fully attained its core objectives since 2008.

The Visayan lawmaker, who heads the House committee on trade and industry, said the panel has its oversight function, which aims to assess whether the law had meaningfully served its purpose of making medicines cheaper.

Under RA 9502, the President has the power to regulate the prices of drugs and medicines upon the recommendation of the secretary of the Department of Health.

But this power has apparently not been used by either past presidents or health secretaries.

“This perhaps is one of the many reasons why to date we have not updated the list of drugs and medicines for price regulation,” he added.

Biron said the committee would push for the inclusion of more essential medicines under compulsory compliance with the maximum drug retail price.

“Because this will pave the way for the realization of our vision of making drugs and medicines accessible to our people,” he said.

Biron is pushing for the passage of House Bill 3252 to amend RA 9502 by effectively reviving the provision for a separate drug price regulatory board.

The drug price regulatory board shall be attached with the department of health and shall be empowered to determine the maximum retail price of drugs and medicines.

With its specialized function, Biron is positive that the board will be able to efficiently monitor, review and push for the inclusion of more drugs and medicines for common ailments and their threatening medical condition into the list subject to price regulation.

Considering all these, Biron urged a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of RA 9502 in order to strengthen this essential peace of legislation and to ensure that the same is meaningfully implemented for the good of every Filipino.