AS the Duterte administration is quite focused on “killing” people hooked on illegal drugs, its attention is needed on another “war on drugs” in order to save lives from treatable diseases. A recent Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the Department of Health (DoH) showed that prescription drugs are unaffordable to about 99 percent of Filipinos due to exorbitant prices. The draft executive order that would place these prescription drugs under the Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP) has been gathering dust in Malacañang. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has given the DoH a much reduced budget for 2020 that at P160.15 billion is lower by P9.39 billion than this year’s P169.45-billion DoH budget. Despite the passage of the Generics Law in 1998 and the Cheaper Medicines Act in 2008, prescription drugs in the country — both branded and generic— remain among the most expensive in Asia.

Source: Manila Times December 08, 2019 17:30 UTC