This good news should travel fast!

Good news very rarely hits the news nowadays. Everyday we are treated to a plethora of corruption cases, a myriad of anomalies in government, a more than generous serving of government ineptitude and a daily dose of plain bad news like accidents, tragedies and crime. I won't be surprised if many suffer from some form of indigestion or depression, or even hopelessness especially in these times of crisis and uncertainty. One can just imagine the exposure to all these negative vibes journalists like yours truly are subjected to everyday because, simply put, nothing sells better, evidently, than bad news ---- which is why this particular item just caught my attention immediately.

The DOH says they are about to release a list of essential drugs that will be covered by a price ceiling, thereby complying with the newly enacted Republic Act 9502 or the Universally Accessible, Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008. Hopefully, the list will include anti-cancer drugs for children and insulin for diabetics, among others.

I for one am not a stranger to the high cost of medication for diabetics. I have a brother who is reeling from his monthly medication bills, particularly insulin. Creating a law is one thing. Implementing it and making the benefits trickle down to the citizens of the country is another. Which is why Sen. Mar Roxas, who authored the initial bill that got the ball rolling, and fought tooth and nail its opponents from outside and within Congress, continues to follow through with advertisements on television saying "kulitin natin ang gobyerno" and see to it that cheaper medicines reach the hands of the people by means of more "Botika ng Bayan" outlets. 

Government had itself set a deadline for its implementing rules and regulations and actual implementation of the Cheaper Medicines Law. It is February and the country has but a fraction of the actual need of outlets for cheaper medicines. Part of the reason why medicine is so expensive in this country is that the market is practically monopolized by only a handful of pharmaceutical companies who have been making a killing in profits at the expense of poor and desperate Filipinos for too long.The importation of medicine produced by other pharmaceuticals at a much, much cheaper price should compel those who already have a stranglehold on the industry to lower their prices in order to remain competitive. In the end, it is the consumer who benefits, as much as makes the choice as to what brand to buy. The target date of the DOH is the end of February.

 Nothing siphons off ones savings than a dreaded disease like cancer or diabetes. It is bad enough to be afflicted, worse to lose all your money treating it. This is not even to mention that there is no lasting cure. Cheaper medicine would definitely soften the blows. And who doesn't want cheaper medicine? The list that the DOH is looking at encompasses most of the meds to treat common but life threatening diseases such as the ones already mentioned, including asthma, pulmonary tuberculosis, hypertension and peptic ulcer to name a few.

This is good news indeed. A welcome change to our daily dose of damnation from this current administration. But this should just be but the beginning. Here are more drugs whose prices need to go down and much more Botika ng Bayan outlets to set up. Government should follow through and prove sincerity. If there were any one thing in President Arroyo's legacy that would mean much to her constituency, it would be Cheaper Medicines.