The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Department of Health (DOH) has implemented a 50 percent cut on 97 medicine formulations, in accordance with Republic Act (RA) 9502, otherwise known as the Cheaper Medicines Act.

According to DOH secretary Esperanza Cabral, the health department will enforce the price cuts starting today by strictly monitoring medicine retailers.

“There are corresponding penalties if they do not follow the price cut. If we receive complaints against some establishments, we may have to revoke their licenses and close them down,” Cabral reminded medicine retailers. She added that the DOH will put posters on medicine retail outlets to remind the public of the price cuts.

Violators of RA 9502 will face a fine ranging from P100,000 to P1 million.

The March 31 price cuts were announced as early as February 26. According to Dr. Robert Louie So of the DOH pharmaceutical management unit, the 97 drugs include medicines for asthma, hypertension, glaucoma, bladder disorders, hepatitis, and fluids for dialysis.

He also said the the price cuts will save at least a billion pesos for medicine consumers.

In a Baguio Midland Courier report, Cabral said that the March 31 price cuts will help DOH in its campaign for patients to complete its prescribed drug dosage.

According to the said report, the DOH campaign “promotes compliance [of prescription drug dosage] as a good health practice towards attaining wellness... Being wellness-conscious means people prefer investing in disease prevention and promotion of healthy lifestyles and environment.”

Extra caution

In a press release published yesterday, the DOH warned motorists to take extra caution, particularly in the Lenten break which will start tomorrow as DOH studies revealed that vehicular accidents are the number one cause of injuries in the second half of 2009.

According to the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System supervised by the DOH, vehicular accidents comprise 27 percent of the causes of injuries, followed by mauling incidents (24 percent) and injuries caused by sharp objects (10 percent).

Of the 6,503 documented cases of injuries caused by vehicular accidents during the study's time period, 33 percent occurred last December, when people went on their year-end and Christmas vacations.

Starting tomorrow, students, government workers, and some workers from the private sector will go on a four-day Lenten break as thousands of Metro Manila residents are expected to visit their respective provinces.