Cebu complies with new law: Medicine now sold cheaper

CEBU, Philippines - There were no major hitches as the Cheaper Medicine Law took effect nationwide yesterday, with monitoring of drugstores and hospitals in Cebu returning reports of satisfactory compliance.

Health officials from the national and regional offices inspected and assessed the conduct of business at branches of the nation’s leading chains of Rose Pharmacy and Mercury Drug and reported being satisfied at a press conference.

Health Undersecretary David Lozano, accompanied by regional health officials, also monitored the pharmacies operated by Cebu Doctors Hospital, Chong Hua Hospital, and the government-run Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

At the press conference at the regional health office, Lozano said the team found that the two large drugstore chains have complied with the lower prices mandated by the law.

Executive Order 821 which implemented price cuts on anti-hypertensive, anti-cholesterol, anti-bacterial and anti-cancer medicines was signed by President Arroyo last month after drug firms refused to slash prices on their own.

But while the law took effect yesterday, drugstores that are not computerized are given until September 15 to comply with the law, Lozano said.

Central Visayas has a total of 1,476 drugstores, with 70 percent of them located in Cebu.

At one drugstore, a banker whose mother has cancer said the law is a big relief as cancer medicine is very expensive. 

“Kami ay natutuwa dahil dito sa Cebu the pharmacies are complying,” Lozano said.

However, he added that in case there are still those who refuse to comply with the law, the public can raise their complaints to the DOH regional office and the matter will be addressed immediately.

Senator Mar Roxas, principal author of the law in the Senate, vowed to closely monitor compliance by multinational drug companies and pharmacies of the executive order imposing 50 percent cuts on the prices of 21 essential but expensive medicines.

A congressional oversight sommittee on cheaper medicines would periodically check if drugstores are reducing or continuing to comply with the mandated reduction by half of the essential medicines.

Aside from prices, another agency, the Bureau of Food and Drugs, is also tasked to ensure all imported medicines are of high quality.

But not everybody is happy with the new law.

Roxanne Duron, a coordinator of the leftist Kilusang Mayor Uno, likened the new law to a Band Aid being applied to a cancer. (/JST)(THE FREEMAN)