Arroyo can't sign cheaper drugs bill into law by May 1

MANILA, Philippines - Due to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's tight schedule, Malacañang on Wednesday admitted that the President may not be able to sign the Cheaper Medicines Bill into law in time for May 1 even as officials earlier hyped it as a gift for workers on Labor Day. In a radio interview, Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said that barring any sudden change in plans, President Arroyo would be too busy to sign the bill into law on the eve of Labor Day. "Sana po gusto sana ng pangulo kung ito aabot. Mukhang medyo malabo na at katapusan ng buwan ngayon at bukas ay Labor Day, di natin siguro maiaabot yan bukas (The president would have wanted to sign it in time for Labor Day tomorrow but the chances of that happening are slim as of now)," Fajardo said in an interview on dwIZ radio. "Maraming activity ang pangulo the whole day, di siya aabot ng opisina kung dumating man sa kanyang mesa ang ratified bill natin (The president has many activities for the whole day today. I don't think she can reach the office in time)," she added. Fajardo said President Arroyo and her Cabinet members are still in Mindanao for another RORO conference and is not expected to be back in Malacañang until later in the day. Besides, Fajardo said that as of early Wednesday morning, the bill ratified by both Houses of Congress late Tuesday had not been formally transmitted to the Office of the President yet. "The moment dumating sa opisina ng pangulo saka lang yan mapirmahan. Sa ngayon wala pa tayong natatanggap... Ang problema, ang pangulo - kami magkasama niya rito sa Camiguin - di pa tapos ang kanyang RORO caravan at may RORO conference mamaya (The president had said she will sign the bill into law the moment it reaches her office but as of now we have not received anything. Besides, we're still in Camiguin and she is due for a RORO caravan and RORO conference)," Fajardo said. Both the Senate and House of Representatives ratified on Tuesday the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008," which seeks to: • prohibit the grant of new patents based only on newly-discovered uses of a known drug substance; • allow local generics firms to test, produce and register their generic versions of patented drugs, so these can be sold right upon patent expiry ("early working principle"); • allow the government use of patented drugs when the public interest is at stake; • give the President the power to price ceilings on various drugs, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Health. These drugs include those for chronic illnesses, for prevention of diseases, and those in the Philippine National Drug Formulary (PNDF) Essential Drug List; • strengthen the BFAD so that it could ensure the safety of medicines, by allowing it to retain its revenues for upgrading of its facilities, equipment and human resources; and • ensure the availability of affordable medicines by requiring drug outlets to carry a variety of brands for each drug, including those sourced from "parallel importation," to give the consumer more choices. - GMANews.TV