NGOs urge transparency, strong civil society participation in the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Cheaper Medicines Law

Civil society groups present their draft IRR on the Cheaper Medicines Law to DOH Undersecretary Alex Padilla

PRESS RELEASE

4 September 2008

International and national non-government organizations are pressing for measures to ensure affordable medicine prices and strict implementation of penalty provisions through a presentation before the Health Undersecretary Alex Padilla today as development of IRR for the Cheaper Medicines Bill get underway.

Civil society groups that pushed for the passage of the Affordable Medicines Bill are demanding that the proposed IRR also ensure transparency and promote clear accountability of public officials and government agencies. Civil society groups that are participating in the development of the IRR include the consumer group Cut the Cost, Cut the Pain Network (3CPNet), Ayos na Gamot sa Abot Kayang Presyo (AGAP) coalition and the patient group Cancer Warriors Foundation (CWF). Also joining the groups are international NGOs Oxfam and Third World Network (TWN).

“Learning from the history of poor compliance of the law, the government should be open to greater civil society participation and allow the accreditation of third party organizations, public health experts and the academe to monitor the implementation of this law,” said Salvacion Basiano, spokesperson of 3CPNet.

The Department of Health and Intellectual Property Office are conducting public hearings on the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 9502, or the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008.

Basiano said the IRR should also include strict monitoring and enforcement of penalty provisions as provided for in RA 9502. There should also be strict monitoring and compliance for other related laws, such as the Generics Act, Price Act and Consumer Act.

As the DOH and IPO proceed with public hearings, the groups ask for public disclosure of the deliberations of the IRR, and the processes and decisions of the DOH, IPO and all other agencies assigned to implement these laws.

“One of the challenges that the opponents of this law has consistently flagged was the capacity of the Bureau of Food and Drugs to deliver its regulatory functions and ensure the safety and quality of low-priced medicines in the market. The agency should establish transparent procedures and allow participation of civil society groups in determining the agency’s priorities and fund allocations to effectively pursue the requirements of this law,” explained Basiano.

The law allows the Bureau of Food and Drugs to retain all the fees, fines, royalties and other charges that the agency has collected and to use these funds to improve the effectiveness of its operations, such as upgrading of its facilities, equipment outlay, human resource development and expansion, and the acquisition of the appropriate office space, among others things, to improve the delivery of its services to the public.

Concerned with the ineffective implementation of earlier laws designed to reduce medicine prices, civil society groups are asking for the opportunity to track medicine prices, and to enable civil society participation in determining the maximum retail prices of drugs and medicines that are under price regulation. . The groups encourage government to tap into the latent network of civil society organizations and patient groups as an approach towards localising a medicine price watch working closely with the Local Health Boards.

“We call on the DOH to prescribe concrete cost-containment measures with specific procedures and standards that will actually make medicines accessible and affordable to all. Fines and penalties designed to prevent unscrupulous traders from undermining the intent of the law should be strictly implemented to uphold public health interests over the profit interests of the pharmaceutical industry,” said Basiano.

Civil society groups therefore propose negotiated equitable prices for new essential medicines for priority diseases and implement reference pricing that is being espoused by Philhealth.

“As groups that unrelentingly pursued this public health measure, we commit ourselves to remain steadfast in defending this law against any attempt to diminish its full benefits on the people,” the groups said in their statement.