DOH urges 5 lady justices to uphold Milk Code IRR

The Department of Health (DOH) expressed hopes Monday that the five women justices of the Supreme Court will uphold the revised implementing rules and regulations on the sale of breast milk substitutes in the country. Health Undersecretary Alexander Padilla, in a press briefing, said health officials are very hopeful that the five women magistrates would "passionately and objectively" study the DOH's position on the Milk Code of 1986. Padilla is referring to Associate Justices Consuelo Yñares-Santiago, Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Conchita Carpio-Morales, Minita Chico-Nazario. "We are optimistic with the five women justices. The regulation we are trying to win is for the Filipino infant," he said. The SC is set to hear Tuesday oral arguments on the revised implementing rules and regulations of the Milk Code which regulates the advertising and marketing of breast milk substitutes. Lawyer David Clark, legal expert on milk code enforcement for the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), said Filipinos spend some P21.5 billion for infant formula thinking that it would make their children brighter and taller as claimed by baby milk companies in their advertisement. Filipino families, even the poor, spend 30 percent of their income on infant formula, Clark said. He said parents are not aware of the alleged "risks" of instant formulas because they were bombarded with "false claims and lies" of the baby milk companies. The Unicef official reported that in the first half of 2006, baby milk companies spent P2.5 billion for advertising alone. Developed 20 years after the approval of the Milk Code in 1986 with the assistance of the World Health Organization and Unicef, the RIRR also calls for heavier penalties for violations of Milk Code. The Pharmaceutical and Health Care Association of the Philippines (PHAP) has secured a temporary restraining order on the RIRR to allegedly give them more time to research the implications of the state regulations. Medical giants Abbot Laboratories, Wyeth Philippines, Mead Johnson, Astrazeneca Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Philippines, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline and Mercury Drug corporation are among the members of PHAP. Clark said these baby milk companies are mostly multinational companies who see the Philippines as a huge potential market for their products. "Why are these companies challenging the Philippine government in its Milk Code regulations which it would not do in other countries. [It is because Philippines] is a huge potential market companies do not want to be interfered with," he said. He noted that infant formula products are regulated in the United States. The multinational companies, he said, want to sell to developing countries their products which are regulated in other countries. He further said these companies are also challenging Milk Code regulations in India and Guatemala. Padilla said a form of pressure being exerted by the companies were threats to cut trade relations with the country if the Health department would pursue with the RIRR. He said the US Chamber of Commerce and Infant Formula Council of America have sent them a letter expressing their "concern" on the regulations. He said a reply has been sent, however, telling the American chamber that that "this is not their concern." US trade representatives also went to their office last year to talk to them about the matter. Padilla said even the country's own Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) had spoken with them on the concern of the companies. The DOH, according to Padilla, insisted that the RIRR will not in anyway affect the trade relations of the two countries as it has nothing to do with actual sales but on the marketing. "Trade cannot take precedence over health concerns. (DTI is) only concerned the business interest and investment," he said. He added: "We hope the SC will take into consideration health matters over business." He also said they could present a stronger case if the DTI is on their side. Dr. Howard Sobel of the World Health Organization said babies fed with infant formula, being a cow's milk and unsterilized, have 10 times the risk of dying, 14 times to get diarrhea and four times to get pneumonia. He added that 16,000 infant deaths can be prevented if the babies were exclusively breastfed for six months, mixed solid/semi-solid food and continued breastfeeding from six months up to two years. Based on the 2003 study of Unicef, 27. 6 percent and 30.4 percent of Filipino aged five years and below were underweight and stunted, respectively, because of malnutrition while only 16.1 percent of children were exclusively breastfed up to four to five months. Unicef noted that 19 percent of children in America were breastfed. Padilla said these advertisements are not actual information but "pervert information to generate sales." - GMANews.TV