By Apple Buenaventura
PRIB
The Senate passed on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 2436
or the Philippine Pharmacy Act of 2014 which aims to regulate the practice of
pharmacy, integrate the pharmacy profession, and enhance professional
competence through mandatory continuing development and research.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, sponsor of the measure,
said the proposed measure will replace the outdated Pharmacy Law (Republic Act
No. 5921) to standardize pharmacy education, and regulate the registration and
licensing of pharmacy graduates.
“Advances in science and technology, particularly changes
in the health sector platform, coupled with the rapid expansion of the global
economy, have made the 45-year old Pharmacy Law outdated, if not obsolete,” Mr.
Trillanes said.
“It is imperative that we update this law to keep the
practice of the profession abreast with these developments and to make it
relevant to how it is practiced in the country,” he added.
Senate President Franklin M. Drilon said that the measure
was part of efforts to modernize and improve the capacities of different key
industries such as the health service, business and agriculture sectors, in
light of new challenges faced by the country such as the ASEAN integration
slated to begin this year.
“We need to ensure that important sectors like the
pharmaceutical industry, which directly affect the lives of our countrymen, are
not being left behind by their regional and international counterparts in
adopting the latest structural innovations and systems that will allow them to
provide better services and products,” Mr. Drilon said.
Mr. Trillanes, chairman of the Committee on Civil Service
and Government Reorganization, said that the bill was intended to equip the
pharmacists with the “necessary tools to further improve and maintain our
vibrant pharmaceutical industry and provide them with the necessary competitive
edge to be able to compete in the international arena.”
Mr. Trillanes said the proposed legislation calls for the
establishment of a Professional Regulatory Board of Pharmacy. Under the
measure, he said, pharmacists in government service shall receive a starting
salary equivalent to Salary Grade 15 under Republic Act No. 6758 or the
Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989. Those in the private
sector, will receive an entry-level salary equivalent to at least 35 percent
above the prevailing minimum wage in the National Capital Region.
The Philippine Pharmacy Act of 2014 also sought to
integrate pharmacists under one nationally accredited professional organization,
according to Mr. Trillanes.
He said one provision of the bill was to provide for a
foreign reciprocity to allow a foreign-registered pharmacist to practice in the
country, provided that his/her country of origin allows Filipino pharmacists to
practice within its territorial limits.
“The enactment of this measure is intended to complement
the talent and competence of our professional pharmacists by providing them
with an updated regulatory framework. This bill seeks to repeal Republic Act
No. 5921 with a new law that is responsive to the current needs and practice of
our professional pharmacists,” Mr. Trillanes said.
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