Health Care
Roxas' position on health care has been highlighted with his cheaper medicines bill that would reduce the prices of medicine by allowing local pharmaceutical companies to manufacture drugs whose patents had already expired, by expanding the parallel imports of commonly used drugs, and by aggressively promoting the production and consumption of generic drugs.
Under the bill, the President is empowered to impose price ceilings on medicines on the recommendation of the secretaries of health and of trade and industry in times of calamity, and if there is widespread price manipulation of any drugs.
His bill also calls for the creation of a Drug Prices Regulation Board and the strengthening of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
But last October 9, 2007, he dropped his objection to the version of the House of Representatives which proposes setting up of market controls and conceded that the sponsors of a similar bill in the House correctly anticipated that big drug companies could manipulate and prevent drugstores from selling imported cheaper medicines.
He said the use of price controls could come in if market competition from cheaper medicines from abroad and generic drugs do not work and make medicines affordable to the public.
Read more about this topic: Political Positions Of Mar Roxas, Social Policy
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