WITH President Rodrigo Duterte's Executive Order No. 155, Filipinos using maintenance drugs and other medicines will now have access to affordable and high-quality medications.
Under the said EO, medicines "frequently used for the primary causes of morbidity in the country" will have their maximum retail price (MRP) and/or maximum wholesale price (MWP) capped by the law.
There will be 34 medicinal compounds and 71 drug formulations covered by the EO.
Analgesics, anesthetics, anti-angina, anti-arrhythmic, anti-asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medicines, antibiotics, anticoagulants, anticonvulsants, and diabetic pharmaceuticals, anti-diuretics, and anti-emetic medications are just a few examples.
Drug molecules and formulas used in anti-glaucoma, anti-hypercholesterolemia, anti-hypertensive, anti-neoplastic/anti-cancer, anti- Parkinson's, anti-overactive bladder drugs, growth hormone inhibitors, immunosuppressant drugs, iron chelating agents, and psoriasis, seborrhea, and ichthyosis medicines are also included in the EO.
The Department of Health (DoH) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should evaluate the list of covered drugs and their prices six months after the order goes into effect, and then every six months after that, as required by the EO.
Under the EO, the DOH and DTI, in collaboration with the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), were tasked with researching and proposing strategies to affect the supply, demand, and expenditure on medications and treatments.
All manufacturers, importers, distributors, wholesalers, traders, and retailers are also required to "display the retail price, which shall not exceed the maximum retail price," according to the EO.
"The MRP shall be printed on the label of the immediate container of the medication and medicine, and the minimum pack thereof sold for sale, preceded by the phrases "RETAIL PRICE NOT TO EXCEED," and "UNDER DRUG PRICE REGULATION," on a red strip," according to the decree.
“Existing inventory stock shall be disposed of at prevailing prices within a non-extendable term of ninety (90) days from the effective date of this Order," the EO stated.
"The MRP and/or MWP under this order shall be strictly applied thereafter, regardless of the situation of the current stock."
Violations of the order will be dealt with in accordance with Republic Act No. 9502, also known as the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008, and other relevant legislations.
The order will take effect once it has been published in the Official Gazette or a widely circulated newspaper.
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