Loren accuses Mar of dishonesty over cheaper medicines law

Iloilo City - Nacionalista Party vice presidential bet Senator Loren Legarda on Thursday accused rival Senator Manuel “Mar" Roxas II of intellectual dishonesty for allegedly claiming authorship of the cheaper medicines law when he weakened it. Legarda told hundreds of NP supporters during the mini-rally held at Barutac Nuevo Gym that the true author of the law that cut medicine prices was then Rep Rolex Suplico and was sponsored by Rep. Ferjenel Biron, chair of the House committee on Health. "That is intellectual dishonesty," she said. Suplico, now Iloilo vice governor, and Biron are both seeking reelection under the NP. "Merong nagpanggap na syang author ng cheaper medicines ni Cong. Rolex, kinuha yung titulo at tinanggal yung laman at ginawang pro-multi national at hindi maka-mahirap. This law is really anti-poor. It is pro-multinational it is anti-poor. Pinatay ni Mar yung batas," Legarda said in a separate press conference held at Hotel de Rio where the NP ticket stayed. (Someone is claiming authorship of the cheaper medicines law of Congressman Rolex but he merely took the title and eliminated the contents to favor multi-nationals and not to benefit the poor. Mar killed this law.) In the same press conference, Biron said the cheaper medicines law originated from the House of Representatives and pushed by Suplico during his first term in the 13th Congress. "I think we have to settle the remarks straight. We pushed this and the heart and soul of this cheaper medicines law is the price regulation commission na inayawan ni Senator Mar Roxas," he said. He added: "In fact during the 13th Congress, in a forum na dinidiscuss ito, he’s really against the price regulation. When we filed it again in the 14th Congress inayawan ni Sen. Mar to the last day of the discussion in the bicameral conference committee. (During the 13th Congress, when this matter was being discussed in a forum, he was really against price regulation. When we filed it again in the 14th Congress, Senator Mar Roxas opposed this until the last day of the discussion in the bicameral conference committee.) "So it is so ironical that now he is claiming that he is the one responsible for bringing down price of medicines when in fact sya ang pumatay nito na batas na ito because what he was pursuing was amendment to the intellectual property code not the price regulation," Biron said. (It is ironic that he is claiming responsibility for bringing down medicine prices when in fact he himself killed the law because because what he was pursuing was amendment to the intellectual property code not the price regulation.) Suplico and Biron claimed that the senator watered down the law by removing the provision mandating pricing mechanisms and making it more favorable to drug companies. “It’s a weak law. In fact, when it was passed we made a statement that this law is a weak law, that it will not benefit the majority of the Filipinos. But at least we have something because everyone is aspiring in the last 50 years to reduce price of medicines. So hinarangan, you know, ngayon ang humarang he’s the one laying claim as the author of the law. Dahil kay Mar Roxas naging bakla ang batas," Suplico said. (The person who claims authorship of the law is the same one who has emasculated it.) He said Roxas pushed for the deletion of the provision that would have required setting up a drug price regulation board which will govern the pricing of the medicines. For his part, Roxas said that criticism leveled against him only shows that its “desperation time." “Cheaper medicine has been something I’ve fought for over ten years," Roxas said in a text message to GMANews.TV. “The pharmaceutical companies have filed cases and have thrown black propaganda against me because of this," he added. He began his efforts as a congressman by filing legislation exempting medicines and raw materials from taxes in order to bring down their cost, the same text message said. As Trade Secretary under former president Joseph Estrada, Roxas said he brought in the first parallel importation of drugs. When he became President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Trade Secretary, Roxas said he negotiated world trade agreements exempting medicines from intellectual property restrictions. “I expanded the parallel importation program to what is now Botica ng Bayan/Barangay," he said in the same text message. “When I became a senator in 2004, I began the leg work on this and it finally passed onto law in June 2008," he said. “Since then I have consistently fought for its strict implementation, even fighting President Arroyo for giving consideration to pharmaceutical companies and allowing them to do voluntary reduction vs. mandatory." - GMANews.TV