DOH pushes for three-pronged legislative agenda against high cost of medicines

Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay (1st District, Zambales) has proposed that the 21 measures providing greater access to affordable medicines be immediately scheduled for deliberation at the mother committee level instead of undergoing scrutiny at the sub-committee level

The Department of Health (DOH)on Wednesday pushed for a three-pronged legislative agenda to bring down the cost of medicines in the country.

DOH Undersecretary Alex Padilla, during the hearing on cheaper medicines before the House Committee on Appropriations, has called for the amendments of Intellectual Property Code as well as flexibilities on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in order that patent on essential drugs be lifted.

Padilla also recommended that the powers of the Bureau of Foods and Drugs (BFAD) be strengthened.

He also asked the Lower House for the amendments of Republic Act 6675, also known as the Generics Act of 1988.

Rep. Antonio Alvarez, chair of the House committee on trade and industry, said the Generics Act amendment is also crucial as branded drugs lord over unbranded ones.

Data showed the branded drugs has a combined sales of Php63.2 billion in 2002 as against unbranded drugs with Php2.4 billion only during the same period.

"But this is not to say that Filipinos do not want generic drugs because a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey has shown that six out of 10 Filipinos say they are buying generic drugs. The issue is access," Alvarez said.

The DOH also highlighted the disparity in drugs prices being sold in the Philippines, India and Pakistan.

Padilla cited the anti-asthma drug Ventolin, which retails for Php315 per canister in the country, is five times cheaper in Pakistan where it sells for only Php62.10.

He also said that popular pain killer Ponstan is being sold here for Php21.82 per 500 milligram (mg) tablet while in India it can be bought for only Php2.61.

"While it is not listed as such the fact is that the high price of medicine can be considered a leading cause of death in the country," Alvarez said.

He said that with high cost of medicines in the country, it becomes the moral duty of the government to carry out parallel importation.

However, he said, the durable solution is the creation of legal and economic infrastructure that would lead to the production of cheaper quality medicines in the country.

The Committee on Trade and Industry has identified the Cheaper Medicines bill as its foremost priority alongside the other measures identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) in the areas of economic progress and social equity.

Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay (1st District, Zambales) has proposed that the 21 measures providing greater access to affordable medicines be immediately scheduled for deliberation at the mother committee level instead of undergoing scrutiny at the sub-committee level. (PNA)

Network of medicine vendors proves health care affordable

CASTILLEJOS, Zambales—From memory, Shirley Navarro recited the prices of generic medicines that are neatly stacked in a cabinet her father made out of scrap lumber.

“Amoxicillin is P2, paracetamol is 50 centavos, mefenamic acid is P1, salbutamol is 50 centavos, ibuprofen is P1 and Vitamin B complex is 90 centavos,” the 26-year-old mother said.

On the list tacked on the door were 80 or so medicines. The prices of these as of Friday, Navarro said, were more than 10 times cheaper than those of generic or branded drugs sold in commercial drugstores.

“Medicines here cost much cheaper than those sold in the lowland,” she told the Inquirer, referring to the upland resettlement of Balaybay here where she and 1,700 families have lived after Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991.

The store that Navarro, eight women and a village council member keep here is called “Botika Natin sa Nayon (Our Drugstore in the Village).”

The medicines are not only affordable. These are available 24 hours.

“This helps us a lot,” she said of the venture they started in April.

If the residents have to buy medicines, they have to travel some 10 km to the town proper or pay P13 for a one-way ride by tricycle.

Former Vice Gov. Ramon Lacbain II, who started this social enterprise, said as of May 31, there are 213 more of these outlets throughout Zambales.

Network

From just one outlet in Sitio Balon, Barangay Cawag in Subic town, which opened on Aug. 25, 2005, Lacbain’s group, the Zambales War Against Poverty (ZWAP) Foundation Inc., has organized outlets in the 13 towns and one city of Zambales.

The largest number of outlets is in Olongapo City, with 53. The town of Subic has 39 outlets; Castillejos, 14; San Marcelino, two; San Antonio, 13; San Narciso, 10; San Felipe, 15; Cabangan, five; Botolan, 13; Iba, six; Palauig, 8; Masinloc, 15; Candelaria, one; and Sta. Cruz, 20.

The outlets come in various forms: a store, a table in front of a house or a tray that is taken in and out of a house whenever there is a buyer.

“Presyong himala laban sa kahirapan (Miraculously priced medicines against poverty),” Lacbain said of the medicines the community-based outlets sell.

The outlets cater only to the needs of the families that are, in turn, banned from retailing the drugs.

The prices in Balaybay are the same in Barangay Taltal in Masinloc, in the mountain village of Bundok Tralala in Olongapo City, in the coastal community of Kinabuksan in Subic, in New Kababae that is in the middle of Olongapo, and in other village outlets, Lacbain said.

The stocks are supplied by ZWAP’s six distribution centers. One of these, located in Wawandue, Subic, has evolved into a regular drugstore in November 2006 since its network has grown to 39 outlets, according to Joyce Marie Abiva, one of the four licensed pharmacists overseeing the operations.

The five distribution centers and the drugstore also accept walk-in clients.

“Napakamura (Prices are very cheap),” Olive Boyd said when Abiva showed her the price list. Boyd on Friday placed orders for a medical mission of the Kingdom Hope Missionary Outreach for Barangay Naugsol next week.

“I managed to buy more [medicines] although we have limited funds,” she told the Inquirer.

Campaign

At first, the prices were met with disbelief, Navarro said. “Our neighbors thought we were selling fake drugs. They couldn’t believe the low prices,” she said.

Like what most of the 2,240 members of the Botika Natin sa Nayon had done, she had to explain what generic drugs meant before she could convince their neighbors to try these.

“These are also effective. Their names are only different from popular brands,” she said.

By pitching for generic medicines, they have virtually become an army of grassroots campaigner for the Generics Act of 1988 or Republic Act No. 6675.

The law seeks to “promote, require and ensure the production of an adequate supply, distribution, use and acceptance of drugs and medicines identified by their generic names.”

To erase doubts, ZWAP has displayed copies of registrations, licenses and accreditations from the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bureau of Food and Drugs, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Trade and Industry, and Philippine International Trading Corp.

Lacbain said ZWAP buys only from Department of Health-licensed companies.

A proof to the growing trust is the cash that piles up on the register.

The Balaybay drugstore makes P200 in daily minimum sales. The distribution center on West Tapinac makes a minimum of P3,000 to a maximum of P14,000 daily. The Wawandue drugstore grosses P2,500 daily from walk-in customers alone.

How it began

The venture began when former Gov. Vicente Magsaysay stripped the vice governor’s office of its budget in 2004, Lacbain said.

“I wanted to continue helping in terms of medical assistance but I was left without money,” he said.

Late that same year, village council member Kathy de la Cruz of Mabanglit in Cabangan walked into his office and requested P1,000.

“Kathy said she needed the money because she wanted to buy medicines for common ailments and make these available to villagers,” said Lacbain.

De la Cruz returned a few months later, making the same request.

“I hesitated to give again but then she looked sincere. I decided to see for myself what she actually did with the money so I went to her village,” he said.

“In front of her house, Kathy kept a small table. She kept the medicines in scrap bottles of mayonnaise and she was selling these at low prices. From out of the small profit she made, she bought more medicines to keep the supply steady,” he said.

“People can immediately buy the drugs they need,” Lacbain recalled De la Cruz’s explanation for the initiative.

The idea caught on with Lacbain. He improved it by putting elements of participation and accountability.

He required that the venture should be managed by at least 10 residents who mutually trust each other.
By Tonette Orejas - Inquirer