THE principal author of the House version of the cheaper medicines bill on Thursday lamented what he described as the “drastic weakening” of the measure with the removal of the provision on the drug-price regulatory board apart from the “generics- only” provision of the original bill.

And because of the latest development, Lakas Rep. Fernejel Biron of Iloilo said he is not that optimistic that the price of medicines will go down even if the bill were passed into law.

Also, Biron said he and other legislators who fought hard to pass the bill are contemplating not signing the draft report being prepared by the House panel for the bicameral conference meeting on the measure.

“We are considering not to sign [the final draft]. Pero siyempre, hanggang Lunes pa ito baka may pagbabago pa sa draft and baka mag-meet pa ulit pero sa information na na-receive namin, hindi na magmi-meet ang bicameral conference committee, instead, you know papirmahan na lang sa amin iyong final draft, which to me parang hindi naman maganda,” Biron said following a news forum in Quezon City on Thursday.

Biron said that if the Senate contingent will force the passage of a new version minus the generics-only provision and the price regulatory board, which he described as “the heart and soul” of the bill, the Filipino people expects nothing from it because it is no longer as effective as the original bill.

“Kung talagang pilitin nila na ito ang bersyon na ipapasa, ah, wala ng masyadong maasahan ung ating kababayan,” Biron said.

“There is a drastic weakening of the bill, nakikita natin na apart from the fact na kinuha ang generic-only provision, sana inasahan natin na iyong drug-price regulatory board should have stayed because that’s the most substantive and most important part of the bill kasi inaasahan ng ating kababayan pag ipinasa ang bill na ito, they would expect a quantifiable reduction sa presyo ng mga gamot. Pero sa ngayon wala na because ang board na iyon inalis na rin and it was transferred to the secretary of Health,” he added.

Biron said that because of the weakening of the measure, “cheaper medicine in the bill is just illusory.”

He said that price regulation rests only on what has to be regulated by the price regulatory board but what Sen. Mar Roxas II wants is there should be prior determination.

Lakas Rep. Janette Garin, also of Iloilo, said in the same forum that what the Senate contingent to the bicameral committee did to the House version was such that “probably the title only, which is cheaper medicine, remains.”

Garin also lamented the “arrogance of the Senate. Kung ayaw mo, di walang batas. Walang open-mindedness. Like Cayetano [Sen. Pia Cayetano], may apprehension but sinagot naming lahat iyon. But after we have answered, hindi nila counter-acted ang mga ito,” Garin said.

“Kung walang board…come 2010 [election year] voters should ask if talagang bumaba ang presyo ng gamot,” said Garin, obviously alluding to the candidacy of Roxas for president.

This was echoed by Biron who said: “Alam ng tao na Senator Roxas is the architect. It is for the Filipino people to really see and determine whether what Roxas is pushing is talagang bababa ang presyo ng gamot.”

The draft bicameral conference committee report will soon be routed for comments to House contingent members. The timetable is to report it out for plenary vote next week.

Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan described the removal of the generics-only provision as “a tactical retreat.”

“Faced with an immoveable Senate, it is better to go home with 90 percent of a loaf of a bread than fight for the whole loaf but ending up with none,” Alvarez said in a statement.

Alvarez said the House’s move to end the deadlock was, however, not without conditions. “It is anchored on the promise of the Senate that the generics-only provision will be tackled in a separate bill that the Senate health committee and the House health committee will independently tackle and report,” Alvarez said.

He said that it was the condition offered by the Senate, that in exchange for the dropping of the generics-only provision, the Senate Committee on Health will treat it, together with other Generics Act-related measures, in a separate legislation.

Malacañang, meanwhile, expressed confidence that the cheaper-medicines bill would withstand legal scrutiny by any group threatened by the impending availability of affordable medicine in the country, as it has been duly reviewed by lawmakers and would apply mostly to commonly used medication with lapsed patents.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a news briefing that many other countries have done the same but were not confronted by legal questions, as warned by some pharmaceutical companies.

“I believe that all the legal grounds have been covered...I’m confident that we have good legal ground to stand on when we pass this law,” Bunye, a lawyer, said.

He added the Senate and the House of Representatives have enough legal experts who have looked into the legal implications of the bill, and found nothing unlawful about it. (With M. Gonzalez)

Solons hit watering down of meds bill

THE principal author of the House version of the cheaper medicines bill on Thursday lamented what he described as the “drastic weakening” of the measure with the removal of the provision on the drug-price regulatory board apart from the “generics- only” provision of the original bill.

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AFTER starting to dismantle illegal fish cages at Laguna de Bay, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is now faced with the bigger challenge of relocating some 50,000 squatters to rehabilitate the lake.

LIKE a scene in some romantic classic, a National Food Authority (NFA) laborer approached a woman in here early 20s, whose halter blouse emphasized the soft tone of her exposed shoulder, and offered to hand her coupon to the security guard manning the rationing of the three-kilo pack of government rice.

THE chief of the Metro Manila police on Thursday ordered a thorough investigation into the death of two passersby during a shootout between members of the Manila Police and alleged robbery gang members in Tondo, Manila, on Wednesday.

CELL-SITE attacks by lawless elements have lessened considerably, Globe Telecom said.

Company president Gerardo Ablaza has said that Globe continues to seek assistance from the police and the military to stop rampant assaults against its cell sites.

THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) launched on Thursday two major locally developed technological innovations which crack down on car smuggling and carjacking as well as strengthen environmental protection.