Press Release
February 4, 2007

NEEDED: "SOCIAL LEGISLATIONS FOR THE 13TH CONGRESS"
CAYETANO URGES HOUSE TO APPROVE COUNTERPART BILLS ON BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION AND LOWERING OF DRUG PRICES

Senator Pia S. Cayetano has urged her colleagues in the House of Representatives to prioritize the approval of their counterpart measures on breastfeeding promotion and on lowering the prices of drugs before the 13 th Congress adjourns its session on February 9.

The lady solon is principal author of Senate Bill No.2490, the "Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act," and co-author with Sen. Mar Roxas III of Senate Bill No. 2263, which seeks to reduce drug prices by amending specific provisions of the Intellectual Property Code.

Cayetano, chairperson of the senate committee on health and demography, said the "enactment into law of these significant social measures would be the 13 th Congress' lasting legacy to the people, particularly on their health and well-being."

The two bills have already been approved on third and final reading in the Senate on December 21, 2006 and January 30, 2007, respectively. The House's version of SBN 2490 has been approved by the committee on labor and is expected to be submitted for plenary debates next week while the counterpart of Roxas' bill, House Bill No. 6035, is still in the period of interpellations at the House of Representatives.

SBN 2490 strengthens the current national policy on breastfeeding and seeks to reverse the decline in breastfeeding rates among Filipino mothers. It also pushes for greater public awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding and the disadvantages of breastmilk substitutes.

The bill specifically mandates the establishment of lactation stations in the workplace and public places where nursing mothers can express their milksimilar to the facilities already featured in some malls in Metro Manila and in key cities like Davao.

On the other hand, SB 2263 seeks to broaden public access to medicines and lower drug prices by amending certain provisions of Republic Act 8293, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

Roxas' bill seeks to spur competition in the domestic drugs market by, among others, legitimizing p arallel importation of identical and lower-priced patented medicines from other countries, and allowing local generic companies to experiment and test for regulatory approval of generic versions of a drug during a reasonable period before its patent expires.

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