Group pickets Pfizer office in Makati City

MANILA, Philippines - Protesters on Wednesday picketed the head office of a pharmaceutical firm, accusing it of bribing the government to derail the implementation of the Cheaper Medicines Law. Radio dzBB's Manny Vargas reported that the Koalisyon Para sa Murang Gamot picketed Wednesday Pfizer’s headquarters in Makati City. The protesters distributed "Suhulit" cards, a parody of Pfizer's "Sulit cards" discount scheme and a play on "suhol," a Tagalog term for bribe. Through the "Sulit cards" promo, Pfizer was supposed to offer discounted prices to selected medicines it manufactured. The report said some of the protesters brandished placards where Pfizer was spelled as "P-Fixer." No report mentioned no untoward incident happened during the protest action. Last Tuesday, Sen. Manuel Roxas II moved to have Pfizer investigated for its alleged "unethical" techniques to derail the implementation of Cheaper Medicines Law. Roxas, chairman of the committee on trade and commerce, cited reports that Pfizer, a US drug maker, had tried to influence President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo against signing the executive order recommending a 50-percent price cut of 21 essential medicines. He said they have also called the attention of the US government to check if Pfizer possibly violated US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly trying to lobby its “Sulit card" scheme to water down a Philippine law. Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile had earlier claimed that Pfizer offered five million discount cards and promotional posters featuring the photos of President Arroyo and Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III. Pfizer's denial Pfizer categorically denied the allegations, saying it has always sought to provide wider access to quality medicines. In a full-page paid ad in several Metro Manila newspapers, Pfizer on July 15 denied claims by Enrile that the “Sulit card" was a form of bribery to President Arroyo not to sign an executive order halving prices of medicines. “We categorically deny this allegation and consider this a grave affront to our reputation ... We have always sought to provide wider access to our high quality medicines," it said. Pfizer said it volunteered to partner with the DOH to offer “Sulit cards" to five million more patients in national and local government hospitals and community health centers by yearend. “These discussions began in May 2009, prior to the announcement of the list of products subject to maximum retail price (MRP). We are saddened that our sincere desire to help has been misconstrued as bribery," it said. Still covered by MRP In an interview on dzXL radio over the weekend, Duque said that Pfizer’s “Sulit card" scheme wouldn’t exempt the drug maker from the MRP coverage as mandated by the law. Duque said any discount offered by the “Sulit cards" should be separate from the MRP for essential medicines. "When Pfizer first proposed the ‘Sulit card’ to us, I said it was okay but it should be apart from the coverage of the Cheaper Medicines Act. It cannot be an exemption from the law," he said. Besides, he said the “Sulit cards" have limitations, as they cover only the firm’s products, and that there are few card readers nationwide. Even if Pfizer distributes 10 million cards, he said these will be useless if there are only some 1,000 card readers. - GMANews.TV