SENATE BILL ON AFFORDABLE MEDICINES
GARNERS INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT

The World Health Organization commended the Senate for the passage of Senate Bill 2263 on third reading before the Upper Chamber suspended its sessions to give way to the electoral campaign.

In his letter to Senator Mar Roxas who is one of the principal authors of Senate Bill 2263, Dr. Jean-Marc Olive, WHO Representative wrote: We would like to congratulate you for your outstanding leadership and steadfastness in the passage of the Access to Medicines Bill. This work is the first and most significant step not only towards improving the access to medicines to millions of Filipinos, but also in improving the health outcomes in our communities as well.

Roxas said Director-General Pascal Lamy of the World Trade Organization, also gave a favorable reaction to the Senates passage of a bill lowering the price of medicines through parallel importation and other amendments to the Intellectual Property Code.

Lamy, in a recent meeting with Senator Roxas, noted that the passage of the bill was a good thing as it showed an ability to change previous rules in response to social needs.

We are thankful that international organizations have taken note of our efforts to bring down the cost of medicines through legislation. Hopefully, the Lower House would be able to pass its version on third reading this June so that we can have the law approved before the 13th Congress is over, Senator Roxas said.

He said the passage of SB 2263 co-authored by Senator Pia Cayetano and HB 6305 authored by Rep. Junie Cua and Rep. Rissa Hontiveros-Baraquel would strengthen the hand of government in dealing with public health emergencies.

The senator said amending the Intellectual Property Code to allow parallel importation of medicines is but the first step toward broader access to quality health care. Roxas said the claim of certain drug multinationals that the bill will open the floodgates to fake drugs is unfounded because in the proposed measure, all imported drugs will still have to pass through the BFAD.