Iloilo Reps. Ferjenel Biron and Janette Garin, both proponents of House Bill 6035 which is the House version of the Cheaper Medicines Bill, said Roxas’ version, or Senate Bill 2263, is just a "misnomer" since it would not at all bring down the cost of medicines.

"You want to be President in 2010, but you don’t want to pay the price? ‘Di pwedeng pagwapo-gwapo lang siya," Biron said in a press conference, referring to Roxas who reportedly plans to run for President in the 2010 elections.

Biron noted that Roxas’ version merely "amends" Republic Act 8239, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

Garin said Roxas seemed to be only after the title "Father of the Cheaper Medicines Act."

She said she and her colleagues in the House would not allow this to happen, especially if the so-called benefits of the law will be felt only by a few.

Garin pointed out that the Roxas bill only allows a parallel importation of patented products which comprise only less than 10 percent of the total medicinal requirement of Filipino consumers, compared to the remaining more than 90 percent commonly used "off-patent" medicines.

"Filipinos can live without these patents. All they want is when they go to a drugstore, they can buy these medicines at much lower prices," she said.

"The bottomline is, this is not responsive to the health care needs of the Filipino people," she said.

The two lawmakers emphasized that what is really needed is a price regulatory board to put a price cap on medicines.

They noted the existence of a drug cartel in the country where big pharmaceutical firms and drug retail stores are allowed to gain profit worth more than 100 percent of the real cost of medicine.

Legislative intervention is the only key to solve the rising cost of medicine, they added.

"If we pass this bill, it’s as if we are fooling the Filipino people. This will not help lower the prices, not at all. It will remain the same. Roxas did not even mention what medicines will be affected," Garin stressed. "There’s no way the government can beat the monopoly."

Almost all the provisions in the House and Senate versions are manageable, said Biron, but the only irreconcilable difference is that Roxas would not budge on his pet bill, which many quarters say will be his legacy when he seeks the presidency in 2010.

"Ang sa amin lang, sana kung gagawa tayo ng bill, huwag naman iyung malasado, iyung babakla-bakla," Biron said.

While the Senate has passed the Cheaper Medicines Bill, the House has yet to approve it on third reading.

Garin said the chronic issue of quorum in the House is actually "secondary" to that of the cheaper medicines measure, because members of Congress like them do not want to pass a haphazard bill that will have no effect at all on the Filipino masses.

She said while she shares the concern of Roxas that the government does not have the money to compete with big pharmaceutical companies, excludingthe House’s provision in the measure would only make it futile.

"This does not cover the medicines being used for chronic illnesses, iyung mga life-saving medicines. Kaya sabi namin sa kanya, there is no quantifiable benefits from your bill. Filipinos can survive without this," she said.

For his part, Biron said if the House would stick to the Roxas version and allow parallel importation of patented products, "this will not solve the high prices of medicines." (Edmer Panesa)