Legarda bill seeks payment for indigenous peoples’ herbal medicines

Indigenous peoples (IPs) should be recognized and compensated as the source of traditional knowledge on herbal medicines used by pharmaceutical companies in commercial quantities, Sen. Loren Legarda said Wednesday.   "Today, these herbal medicines have been turned into capsules and syrups... by pharmaceutical companies who have done further research on these plants,” Legarda said at the Forum on Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge at the National Museum in Manila.   “We hope that our IPs will be accorded with proper recognition and gain themselves access to these better medications," the senator noted.   These herbal cures for various ailments include lagundi, guava leaves and ampalaya leaves, Legarda said, adding, "The gumamela has been used to treat sores and lesions, while sambong is known to help cure coughs and colds."   "It is in this light that I filed a proposed legislation under Senate Bill 2831 of the Traditional Property Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, which seeks to make an inventory of all cultural properties and mandate the payment of royalties to our indigenous peoples for the use of these cultural properties. I hope this becomes a law before the year ends," Legarda told the forum.   Apart from protecting indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage, her measure aims to stop local and foreign entities from stealing indigenous knowledge, dances and designs.   In the senator’s definition, traditional knowledge include arts and crafts, music and literature, health care, agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and architecture.   The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 lack specific provisions to protect IPs’ cultural properties, according to her.   "Moreover, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines does not have the legal mandate nor the expertise or capability to undertake such protection of our indigenous cultural treasures," Legarda added.   Legarda also helped launch the first gallery for indigenous Philippine textiles located at the National Museum building, with an initial display of hand woven and stitched fabrics. — VS, GMA News