PRESCRIBING THE MAXIMUM DRUG RETAIL PRICES FOR SELECTED DRUGS AND MEDICINES THAT ADDRESS DISEASES THAT ACCOUNT FOR THE LEADING CAUSES OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY
the leading causes of morbidity and mortality is critical to improve
the health and productivity of Filipinos, prevent impoverishment of
families due to high cost of health care and thereby achieve the
Millennium Development Goals and National Objectives for Health;
WHEREAS, Chapter 3, Section 17, of Republic Act 9502, otherwise known
as “The Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of
2008”, and its Implementing rules and regulations provide that the
President of the Philippines, upon recommendation of the Secretary of
the Department of Health, shall have the power to impose maximum retail
prices over any or all drugs and medicines as enumerated and provided
for within the law;
WHEREAS, in an effort to make medicines affordable and accessible to
the majority of Filipinos, and acting on the conviction that health is a
basic human right, the President ordered the Department of Health and
the Department of Trade and Industry to determine and recommend Maximum
Drug Retail Prices (MDRP);
WHEREAS, the determination of the MDRP is premised on the following
criteria: (a) conditions that address public health priorities
especially those that account for the leading causes of morbidity and
mortality; (b) drugs that have high price differentials/arbitrage
compared to international prices; (c) drugs that have limited
competition in terms of lack of generic counterparts or lack of market
access to these products; (d) drugs where the innovator product is the
most expensive yet most prescribed and/or dispensed in the market; and
(e) the conditions as stated in Sections 19 (2) of Republic Act No.
9502, among others;
WHEREAS, various stakeholders, academic institutions, including the
Advisory Council for Medicine Price Regulation created pursuant to
Section 18 of RA 9502, were involved in the process of consultation in
the selection of the initial twenty-one (21) drugs and medicines for the
imposition of MDRP;
WHEREAS, as a consequence of the President’s appeal to pharmaceutical
companies during the process of consultation, many of these companies
voluntarily undertook to reduce by at least fifty per cent (50%) the
prices of sixteen (16) drugs that address diseases of public health
concern originally included in the MDRP, such as hypertension, diabetes,
common bacterial infections, amoebiasis (a leading cause of diarrhea),
cancers (like leukemia, the number one pediatric cancer killer) and the
like. In addition, these pharmaceutical companies also undertook to
reduce by about ten to fifty per cent (10%-50%) the prices of twenty-two
(22) other drugs and medicines not included in the initial list
recommended by the DOH and DTI. The reduction of the prices of these
drugs and medicines shall commence on August 15, 2009 and shall be fully
implemented by September 15, 2009;
WHEREAS, of the original drugs and medicines recommended for MDRP,
only five (5) are not compliant with the rates proposed by DOH and DTI;
NOW THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic
of the Philippines by the powers vested in me by law, do hereby impose
the Maximum Drug Retail Prices over the following active ingredients,
including the indicated specific preparations registered and available
in the market:
SECTION 1. List of Medicines and Corresponding Maximum Drug Retail Price (MDRP).
1. Amlodipine (including its Sisomer and all salt form) 2. Atorvastatin 3. Azithromycin and all its Salt form 4. Cytarabine 5. Doxorubicin and all its Salt form SECTION 2. Applicability
a. This Order shall apply to all medicines covered under Section 1
which are currently BFAD-registered and are available in the market.b. The MDRP of all drugs and medicines stated herein shall be
imposed in all retail outlets, public or private, including drugstores,
hospitals and hospital pharmacies, health maintenance organizations
(HMOs), convenience stores and supermarkets and the like.b.1. Price differentials as an effect of this Order shall be shouldered by the corresponding manufacturer/trader/importer.
b.2. No public or private entity or person shall be allowed to
sell, reimburse, or demand from the public or patients payment or
compensation higher than the MDRP.c. This Order shall also apply to government agencies, offices and
instrumentalities procuring, acquiring and reimbursing drugs and
medicines covered in Section 1 hereof.c.1. The prescribed MDRP shall serve as the ceiling for the
procurement o f the herein enumerated list of drugs by the national
agencies, local government units, and all other government entities
including but not limited to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office
(PCSO) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).c.2. The prescribed MDRP shall serve as the ceiling of the
procurement of the said enumerated list of drugs by government hospitals
including the Philippine General Hospital, hospitals managed by the
Department of Health including specialty centers, hospitals under the
auspices of the Department of National Defense and the Philippine
National Police, government-owned and controlled hospital corporations,
local government hospitals, and all other types of government hospitals.c.3. The prescribed MDRP shall serve as the ceiling for the
retail price of the said enumerated list of drugs of all drug
consignment arrangements entered into by government hospitals including
government-owned and controlled hospital corporations and local
government units, and all other government entities.c.4 The prescribed MDRP shall serve as the ceiling for the
reimbursement of the said enumerated list of drugs by the Philippine
Health Insurance Corporation, the Social Security System and the
Government Services Insurance System and all government entities
reimbursing drugs and medicines including the PCSO.SECTION 3. Implementation.
a. The Department of Health is hereby ordered to put in place all
the necessary policies and systems to fully implement this Order.b. The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) shall immediately act upon
any application for registration of drugs and medicines listed above
within fifteen (15) days upon its filing; thereafter, the approval or
disapproval of the Certificate of Product Registration should be
released within ninety (90) days.c. All government-owned and controlled television and radio
stations are hereby ordered to provide all necessary support to DOH in
disseminating the list of drugs, their MDRPs, and such other information
as required.d. All other agencies of government, national and local, including Government-Owned Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and Government Funding
Institutions (GFIs) are hereby ordered to provide all necessary support
to DOH for the enforcement and implementation of, including the
dissemination of information, as well as monitoring compliance with this
Order.SECTION 4. Violations and Circumvention of the MDRP. Any actions construed as circumventing or violating the intent of this Order shall be dealt with accordingly.
SECTION 5. Review. The list of medicines and
their corresponding MDRPs shall be subject for review after three (3) to
six (6) months by the DOH and as may be recommended thereafter upon the
effectivity of this Order or as often as necessary as determined by the
Secretary of Health.SECTION 6. Transition. The period from the issuance of
this Order up to August 15, 2009 shall constitute the transition period
in which appropriate packaging, labeling, and disposition of existing
inventory should be accomplished. Thereafter, regardless of extent of
existing inventory and compliance with packaging and labeling
requirements, strict implementation of the MDRP and this Order shall be
enforced.SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. All executive
issuances, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent
with this Executive Order are hereby revoked or modified accordingly.SECTION 8. Effectivity. This Order shall immediately be
published in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation and shall
take effect on August 15, 2009.
Adopted: 27 July 2009
(SGD.) GLORIA M. ARROYO
President of the Philippines
BY THE PRESIDENT:
(SGD.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary