Pia lauds passage of vital health bills

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today hailed the passage of the proposed Cheaper Medicines Act (Senate Bill No.1658) and Expanded Breastfeeding Act (SBN 1698), saying the two measures would help bring about new generations of healthier Filipinos.

Both bills were approved by the Senate on third reading yesterday along with six other measures.

Cayetano is one of the co-authors of the Cheaper Medicines Act with Sen. Mar Roxas and is principal author the Expanded Breastfeeding Act. The lady senator has been pushing for the enactment of both bills since the 13th Congress.

"These bills tackle different health aspects, but they share a common goal of improving people's health by drastically reducing personal spending for expensive medicines and eliminating family expenses for infant milk formula by promoting breast milk�which is virtually free," explained Cayetano, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography.

"The underlying principle of both bills is that health need not be costly and left at the mercy of giant pharmaceutical and milk companies," she added, even as she hoped that the House of Representatives could pass its own versions of the bills soon.

SB 1658 aims to improve people's access to medicines and lower drug prices by amending certain provisions of Republic Act 8293, the Intellectual Property Code.

The bill legalizes parallel importation of identical and lower-priced patented medicines from other countries and allows local generic companies to experiment and test for regulatory approval of generic versions of drugs with expiring patents.

On the other hand, SBN 1698 reinforces the national policy on breastfeeding by mandating the establishment of lactation stations in the workplace and public places where working and mobile mothers can breastfeed their babies or express their milk.

The bill aims to aggressively promote a national breastfeeding culture and discourage Filipino mothers from patronizing infant formula milk.

Cayetano, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources likewise welcomed the passage yesterday of the proposed Environmental Education Act (SBN 1699).

The bill promotes environmental awareness among the youth by including environment education in the curricula of all academic levels.