Skip to main content

Imee: VAT exemptions to reduce meds prices further

By



By Bernardo B. Ver II
Contributor

The government can still do more to make medicine prices the cheapest possible, Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos said, after President Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered a price ceiling on 133 medicines.

Ms. Marcos said that exempting the sale and importation of medicines from the value-added tax (VAT) could further reduce the maximum retail and wholesale prices of select medicines, which Executive Order No. 104 will subject to a review every six months.

The senator added that the 56% average discount seen in the EO’s regulation of medicine prices could be larger because pharmaceutical companies themselves have said they could afford price reductions of up to 75%, before the EO was signed.

More than half of the P413 billion Filipinos spent on health services in 2018 went to pharmaceutical companies, Ms. Marcos said, citing Philippine Statistics Authority numbers.

She added that Department of Health (DoH) estimates put the present cost of branded drugs at as much as 22 times higher than in other countries, especially in private hospitals and pharmacies.

Ms. Marcos’s campaign promise to make medicines cheaper is now a provision in Section 1 of Republic Act 11467, otherwise known as the sin tax law.

The said law adopts the VAT exemptions proposed by Marcos in Senate bills 218 and 219, which were put into effect last January for diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension medicines, and will apply in January 2023 for medicines to treat cancer, mental illness, tuberculosis, and kidney disease.

Amid the financial and logistical problems hounding the government’s Universal Health Care Program, Marcos said lowering the prices of medicine is the quickest way to help the sick.

“Matagal pa bago maisaayos at mapalawak ang PhilHealth, at kailan pa kaya mawawala ang katiwalian at expired meds sa bodega ng DoH? Pero kung maibaba pa natin ang presyo ng gamot, agad-agad tayo makakatulong sa mga may sakit,” Ms. Marcos said.

"Ngayong taon na magkakabisa ang Universal Health Care Law, kaya talagang kailangan na ng murang gamot. Now na!" the senator added.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By
By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd  of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become...
14 comments
Read more

2020 Laoag City Traffic Code

By
  Republic of the Philippines Province of Ilocos Norte CITY OF LAOAG   SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD   EXCERPT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE 58 TH REGULAR SESSION OF THE 11 TH SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF LAOAG HELD AT THE SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD SESSION HALL, LAOAG CITY ON OCTOBER 14, 2020. PRESENT: 1.        Hon. Vicentito M. Lazo                                                 City Vice-Mayor/Presiding Officer Hon. Juan Conrado A. Respicio II                                              S.P....
44 comments
Read more

Marcos town celebrates 3rd Pinakbet Festival

By
MARCOS, Ilocos Norte—Taking pride of this town ’s favorite Ilo cano dish, locally known as pinakbet, a mix of indigenous vegetables steamed in fish sauce, residents here ushered the opening of the third Pinakbet festival. “Pinakbet” came from the contracted Ilokano word ‘pinakebbet ’ which means “ shrunk ” or “shriveled.” As a way of thanksgiving, the Pinakbet festival is a repository of the town ’ s “ani” [harvest] festival being celebrated every month of March but this was later moved to December to accommodate more balikbayans wanting to join the festivity. Residents in this agricultural town derived most of their income from the harvest of high value crops, including rice, tobacco and corn as staple crops. This year, the week-long festivity highlighted a grand parade around the town plaza and a pinakbet cook fest at the municipal gymnasium to showcase the best pinakbet in town. A boodle fight followed suit. Earlier, a fun run was participated by various groups ...
5 comments
Read more