House OKs bill to lower cost of medicine

The House of Representatives on Tuesday evening passed on second reading House Bill 6035 or the Parallel Importation of Medicine that would amend Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. Iloilo Rep. Ferjinel Biron, one of the bill's principal authors, said the measure will be sent to the bicameral conference committee and may be ratified in June. During the period of interpellation, Rep. Jacinto Paras (Negros Oriental), urged Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, chairman of the House committee on trade and industry, to defer the approval of the measure. Paras expressed fear that the quality of drugs might suffer once the importation of medicine is liberalized. He said that the bill, once signed into law, could be another source of corruption. Instead of allowing the importation of medicines, Paras pressed for the regulation of distribution and sales of medicine in the market. President Arroyo earlier certified the proposed measure as urgent. Civil society groups had expressed fear the proposed bill would encounter snags in Congress, especially with the opposition raised by the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines. International NGO Oxfam earlier wrote both chambers of Congress calling for the immediate passage of the pending bills. The law, if passed, would allow parallel importation of cheaper generic versions of medicines. Civil society groups said the Philippines is entitled to reduce the price of patented medicines, market generic versions of patented medicines even when a patent monopoly still exists and ensure rapid and early introduction of generic medicines upon patent expiration under the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement allows. Figures from the National Statistics Office show that the total family expenditures for medical care in 2000 increased by 13.7 percent from 1997 figures. Families spend P46 for medicine out of every P100 in health spending. Paras, however, said "importation is not the answer to the problem of the high cost of medicine." He said the importation of medicine is a very lucrative business. "This could become a source of corruption once a body is established (to) identify who are allowed to import," he said. After Paras’ interpellation, Cua introduced amendments to the bill, including the creation of an oversight body to ensure that the bill’s intention is met. Makati Rep. Teodoro earlier in the evening asked representatives of a multinational drug company to leave the House session hall. Iloilo Rep. Janette Guarin told reporters that about 10 p.m., Teodoro was irked after he received a note from one of the representatives of Pfizer, telling him to question the quorum. The House took a break at about 8:30 p.m. and resumed session at 10 p.m. with only 30 lawmakers. During the break, representatives of the company reportedly got tired of waiting for the resumption of the session and sent the note to Locsin. The lawmaker reportedly felt offended and asked them to leave the hall. GMANews.TV tried but failed to get the side of the Pfizer representatives. Locsin declined an interview. The House adjourned the session at about 11:30 p.m. GMANews.