Press Release
April 27, 2009

ROXAS: USE CHEAP MEDS LAW FOR SWINE FLU PREPARATIONS

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas urged the government to use the full powers under the Quality and Affordable Medicines Law to allow local government units to prepare themselves to deal with the new strain of swine flu virus should its pandemic arrive in the Philippines.

This, as he filed Senate Resolution No. 1015 seeking a Senate inquiry into the pandemic potential of the new strain of swine flu virus which has caused deaths and infections to people in Mexico and the United States.

"The government must ensure that all the necessary cures to the disease are available, accessible and affordable," said the author of the new law ensuring Affordable Medicines.

"Patuloy nating kulitin ang gobyerno para ipatupad nang husto ang bagong batas. Dapat makipagtulungan sila sa mga lokal na gobyerno at iba pang grupo at tulungan sila sa pag-aangkat ng murang gamot (We should continue to appeal to the government to fully implement the new law. They should cooperate with local governments and other groups and allow them to import affordable medicines)," he stressed.

In filing the resolution, the Visayan senator said that "supply and cost of medicines must be properly monitored by the government to ensure the protection of our people from the possible fatal effect of the new swine flu virus."

Swine Flu is a highly contagious respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza, which do not normally affect humans. But human infections with swine flu also occur and could spread through tiny particles in the air or by direct physical contact. Its symptoms in humans are similar to the symptoms of the common flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, sore muscles, vomiting and diarrhea. There is no vaccine against the new virus.

News reports have indicated a new strain of swine flu virus that has so far killed more than 80 people and sickened thousands of people in Mexico since April 13. It has also infected more than 10 people in the United States, two in France and one in Israel.

The Department of Health has announced that "there is still no case of the swine flu" in the country. But the World Health Organization has warned the new virus has a "pandemic potential" if it mutates into a form that is easily transmissible between humans and has labeled the current outbreak as "a public health emergency of international concern."

News Latest News Feed