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WHAT would it take to enforce the Affordable Quality
Medicine Act to bring to poor and middle class Filipinos the
blessings of cheaper medical drugs?
Obviously, President Gloria
Arroyo must sign the omnibus bill approved by the House and the
Senate and by the congressional conference committee. The bill is
pending in the presidential study.
After the signing, the Department
of Health shall call for public hearings on the implementation of
the law. An appropriate committee shall draft the implementing
rules. Publication of the implementing regulations in a number of
major dailies signals the start of implementation.
But first, Sen. Mar Roxas has two
suggestions. He suggests creating a P1-billion special fund to buy
quality drugs from India. This is an excellent way to jumpstart the
implementation of the bill, according to the principal author in the
Senate of the landmark measure.
He also urged the Department of
Health to lay the groundwork for a summit on affordable medicines
for participants from the local and national governments, the
business sector and principal players in the industry. “It is
our duty as lawmakers to oversee the executive’s actions, to
ensure that our new law is taken full advantage of by the public,”
Roxas said.
The legislation allows the
imposition of price ceilings on medicines in case of an emergency or
when the free market is unable to bring down prices. The President,
on the recommendation of the Secretary of Health, would carry out
this option. An initial P25-million appropriation is set for
implementation.
The conference committee agreed
to scrap the price regulatory board proposed in the House version as
unwieldy, cumbersome and vulnerable to pressures from the
pharmaceutical industry which, in the House model, would be
represented in the board. Rep. Tony Alvarez of Palawan chaired the
House delegation to the committee.
The bill has raised high
expectations from the poor for immediate relief for their ailments.
For example, Filipinos suffering from hypertension and diabetes,
whose number is growing, require expensive daily-maintenance
medicines.
“Parallel importation of
life-saving medicines [allowed in the bill] would benefit millions
of ailing Filipinos. This is one way of giving back to the people
what the government collects by way of taxes,” Roxas said.
The Liberal Party president
lobbied for amendments to the Intellectual Property Code to allow
the parallel importation of domestically patented drugs and to allow
generic manufacturers to test, register, produce patented drugs
prior to patent expiry, among others.
Referring to rising costs of
rice, gas and electricity, he said that “with the current
condition, the poor are forced to choose between medicines and food.
An effective implementation of the law would enable them to save
money and maintain health by importing affordable medicines.”
The legislation provides for
increased competition to encourage a lowering of prices. It
strengthens the domestic generics industry through two provisions
amending the Intellectual Property Code.
Finally, the Bureau of Food and
Drugs shall retain its operating income from fees and other charges
to upgrade its staff, facilities and services. This strengthens the
ability of the bureau to curb attempts to smuggle fake or
substandard medicines.
The medicine bill is part of the
senator’s strategy to help the poor cope with rising prices. He
has asked Congress to exempt minimum wage earners from paying income
tax and to reduce or suspend the collection of the 12 percent VAT on
oil products. He faces bigger battles.
It can’t happen here
WHEN was the last time you heard
or read about the Philippine government successfully prosecuting a
tax cheat and sending him to jail?
A US federal judge, according to
Agence France-Presse, has sentenced Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes to
three years in prison for failing to file tax returns from 1999 to
2004.
Judge William Terrell Hodges laid
down the harshest possible sentence against Snipes, after the star
of “Demolition Man” and the “Blade” trilogy was found guilty
by a jury in February on three misdemeanor charges.
According to US Attorney Scotland
Morris, who argued the government’s case, Snipes owes more than
$20 million in back taxes and penalties.
The actor made a $5-million
payment to the Internal Revenue Service, but Morris dismissed it as
“a fraction of what he owes.”
“The law is very clear: people
must pay their taxes,” said IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman.
“There is no secret formula that eliminates a person’s tax
obligations, nor are there any special exceptions.”
During the hearing Snipes, 45,
apologized to the court for his actions. Hernandez argued that
Snipes in August offered to plead guilty to one misdemeanor and pay
the back taxes to avoid prison time. The prosecutors rejected the
deal, demanding that he admit to a felony, a harsher crime.
The actor’s attorneys asked
Hodges to allow Snipes to be sent to a prison close to his home in
the northeastern state of New Jersey. The judge said he would
consider the request.
They vowed to appeal. “We were
hoping for a complete acquittal,” Snipes attorney Linda Moreno
told reporters. “I have faith in the process, and I have faith in
the jury system. We will appeal.”
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