Arroyo 'in no hurry' to sign EO on cheaper medicines, exec says

MANILA, Philippines - Amid the frenzy created by the delay in the signing of an order that would halve the prices of 21 essential medicines, a Palace official hinted Thursday that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is in no hurry to sign the document. In a radio interview Thursday, deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said President Arroyo is not obliged to sign immediately the executive order (EO) on maximum retail price (MRP) of 21 essential medicines. "Walang makakapilit sa Presidente na pirmahan kaagad ang executive order, karapatan niyang gawin o hindi ang pagpirma [Signing the EO is a prerogative of the president. No one can pressure her to do that]," Olivar said on dzXL radio On the other hand, chief presidential legal counsel Raul Gonzalez admitted Thursday he has not received yet a copy of the draft executive order. "Hindi pa po dumating sa table ko ang EO na yan [The draft EO has not reached my table yet]. Di ko pa nababasa [I have yet to read it], but I favor that course of action," Gonzalez said in separate interview on dzXL radio. Meanwhile, Department of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said his office is expecting pharmaceutical firms could beat the Saturday deadline for the submission of the list of common medicines whose prices they are going to halve. "Titignan natin kung katanggap-tanggap ang kanilang listahan ng mga gamot at ang katumbas na mga presyo nito. Kung makikita natin na mas marami ang kanilang nililista na mga gamot kesa sa itinakda natin, mas mabuti. Kung hindi naman, mapipilitan tayong mag-takda ng price ceiling, o di kaya’y ire-regulate ang presyo," Duque said in an interview on GMA Network’s early morning television news Unang Hirit on Thursday. [We will know on Saturday if pharmaceutical firms’ list of medicines are acceptable. If we see that their proposal is better than what we are proposing, then we go for it. If not, we might be forced to impose regulations.] In the July 8 meeting with President Arroyo, pharmaceutical firms were given until this Saturday [July 18] to come up with a letter of undertaking to comply with the Cheaper Medicines Act. The Pharmaceutical firms are supposed to lay down their proposal on how the prices of medicines could be brought down. They would also specify the medicines they are going to reduce prices on and the rates of the reduction. In Thursday’s interview, Duque hinted that the decision to sign the EO on MRP would depend on the letter of voluntary undertaking. "Kung lalabas na mas maigi yung letter of undertaking ng pharmaceutical firms, di na kailangang mag-MRP [If the letter of undertaking is better than that what we are proposing, then there is no need for regulation]." For her part, deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said the voluntary compliance is a big thing for Malacañang. "Kung sa kanila galing ang voluntary compliance at sila na mismo mag-impose upon themselves bukas din ibababa ang presyo ng mga gamot. Pero kung mapipilitang tayo ang mag-enforce ng batas, maraming administrative at enforcement issues pero kaya ng gobyerno gawin yan [If they (pharmaceutical firms) impose the conditions on themselves it will be easier on government. If we enforce the law, there will be many administrative and enforcement issues)," Fajardo said in an interview on dwIZ radio on Thursday. After President Arroyo’s meeting representatives of pharmaceutical firms on July 8, Senator Manuel Roxas II alleged that the President colluded with medical companies to circumvent the law on cheaper and affordable medicines. But Reiner Gloor, executive director of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), who was present in the July-8 meet, said he believes that the meeting was not secret as critics had claimed. Duque had consistently denied there was a collusion, which has caused delay in the signing of the EO on MRP. On the other hand, Gloor denied that the PHAP asked the President not to sign the executive order on the implementation of the MRP for essential medicines. "We did not ask her not to sign the MRP. We question if the MRP is necessary and if there is a better way to achieve it [better access and affordability of medicines]," Gloor said. Based on this, President Arroyo gave the drug firms a deadline to submit their proposal on how to voluntarily comply with that Cheaper Medicines Act. - GMANews.TV