[Ip-health] Philippines House of Representatives enacts amendments to Intellectual Property Law

Thu Feb 22 06:26:01 2007

Here's the full account of the incident with the lobbyists already
mentioned in the first report. Also take note that both the Philippine
House and the Senate passed a version of the bill and that both versions
still have to be reconciled.

Wim

---

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?arti=
cle_id=3D50887
Drug firms=E2=80=99 lobbyists thrown out of House

By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer

Posted date: February 22, 2007

MANILA, Philippines -- Lawmakers are furious over what they call a
brazen attempt by international pharmaceutical companies to block the
passage of a bill seeking to reduce the prices of medicines in the
country.

Four lobbyists from the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the
Philippines (PHAP) were banished from the plenary hall after slipping a
note into the hands of Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. late Tuesday
night, the end of the two-day special session of Congress.

The note indicated that the lobbyists wanted the lawmaker to question
the quorum just when the body was about to pass on third reading House
Bill No. 6035. The bill was subsequently passed, paving the way for a
bicameral conference to reconcile it with the Senate counterpart
measure.

=E2=80=9CWe desperately need someone to question the quorum now. Can you do=
 it?=E2=80=9D
the note supposedly read.

Not an errand boy

It also asked Locsin to call up Leo Wassmer, executive vice president
and chief executive officer of PHAP, at his mobile phone number
0917-5289308.

Iloilo Rep. Rolex Suplico Wednesday said he was studying the possibility
of filing criminal charges against the four lobbyists for disrupting
legislative proceedings. =E2=80=9CThis is the work of vampires ... Congress=
man
Locsin is not their errand boy,=E2=80=9D he said.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel Wednesday filed a
resolution seeking an inquiry into the incident that caused a lull at
the special session called by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Baraquel=E2=80=99s staff identified two of the lobbyists as Tinine Bautista=
 and
Mailyn Ocampo, both of them allegedly lawyers working for PHAP,
particularly association members Pfizer Phils. and Glaxo-Smith Kline.

Corporate constituent

=E2=80=9CIt was a brazen display of corporate arrogance in front of so many
public health advocates pushing for the bill,=E2=80=9D Baraquel told report=
ers.

She said it was high time that the country come up with professional
standards for lobbying. She also wanted to find out if the multinational
drug companies belonging to PHAP violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act.

In a statement, PHAP described as a =E2=80=9Cmyth=E2=80=9D the note its lob=
byists had
sent Locsin.

=E2=80=9CSince PHAP is a corporate constituent in the first congressional
district of Representative Locsin, we wanted to get (him) to listen to
our proposed amendments,=E2=80=9D the group said.

=E2=80=9CThere is nothing wrong with that. In any democratic country, the f=
irst
step one must take in order to be heard is to write your congressman,=E2=80=
=9D
it added.

In an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Locsin said the
lobbyists ostensibly had the impression that he was siding with them
because of the many objections that he had raised.

=E2=80=9CIt was a catastrophic conclusion,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=
=80=99s one thing for us to
oppose the bill. It=E2=80=99s another to dictate things on us.=E2=80=9D

Hontiveros and representatives of the Oxfam advocacy group said these
same people, together with other lobbyists, were perennially present at
the plenary hall=E2=80=99s gallery to monitor the proceedings on HB No. 603=
5
known as the Cheaper Medicine Act of 2007.

Toothless Senate version

Locsin explained that his objections were meant only to firm up what he
called the =E2=80=9Ctoothless=E2=80=9D Senate bill authored by Sen. Manuel =
=E2=80=9CMar=E2=80=9D Roxas
II.

=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s a flawed bill and we don=E2=80=99t like defective bil=
ls coming from the
Senate,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CThey=E2=80=99re not as smart as us so we=
 corrected it.=E2=80=9D

During the late-night session, Locsin said he initially made no noise
about the PHAP note. Instead, he said he warned his colleagues to
expedite the writing of a new copy of HB 6035, one that would include
key amendments earlier brought up on the floor.

Rules on quorum

Locsin was wary that because he was not acting on the note, the
lobbyists might convince another lawmaker to raise the issue of quorum.
Such an action would have scuttled the bill anew because the number of
lawmakers present essentially did not reflect a quorum.

But under the rules, there is a quorum unless someone challenges it.

=E2=80=9CWe have to finish because I am already being asked to question the
quorum,=E2=80=9D he told the group that included Representatives Ronaldo Za=
mora
(San Juan), Loretta Ann Rosales (Akbayan party-list), Junie Cua
(Quirino), Justin Chipeco (Laguna), Ferjenel Biron (Iloilo), Suplico and
Baraquel.

Told about the note, Rosales confronted the group whose members denied
disrupting the proceedings.

Get out

At this point, Locsin fumed and told them: =E2=80=9CYou know what, the four=
 of
you, get up and get out of here before I kill you! I don=E2=80=99t want to =
see
your face. You know what=E2=80=99s good for you.=E2=80=9D

Deputy House Speaker Gerry Salapuddin Wednesday sought a ban on the
lobbyists from the session hall. =E2=80=9CThat=E2=80=99s a despicable and u=
nacceptable
practice. We do not tolerate such shameless interference,=E2=80=9D he said =
in a
statement.

The banishment of the lobbyists was a symbolic victory for advocates of
HB 6035.

With the amendments, the House version not only embraces the parallel
importation of medicines sold at a much cheaper price elsewhere by the
same makers. It also improves access to these cheap medicines.

Philippine prices are considered second to the highest in Asia, partly
because of existing intellectual properly laws protecting patent
holders.

Another key amendment was a provision loosening patent protection that
will cover only medicines.

Locsin argued that putting the matter in the general provisions of the
patent law might inadvertently encourage people to steal formulas like
those of beers and soft drinks.

On Tue, 2007-02-20 at 14:43 -0500, Rohit Malpani wrote:
> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> --
> [ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]
>
> House OKs bill to lower cost of medicine
>
>
> FIDEL JIMENEZ, GMANews.TV
> Article posted February 20, 2007 - 11:55 PM
>
> The House of Representatives on Tuesday evening passed on second reading
> House Bill 6035 or the Parallel Importation of Medicine that would amend
> Republic Act No. 8293, otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code
> of the Philippines.
>
> Iloilo Rep. Ferjinel Biron, one of the bill's principal authors, said
> the measure will be sent to the bicameral conference committee and may
> be ratified in June.
>
> During the period of interpellation, Rep. Jacinto Paras (Negros
> Oriental), urged Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, chairman of the House committee
> on trade and industry, to defer the approval of the measure.
>
> Paras expressed fear that the quality of drugs might suffer once the
> importation of medicine is liberalized. He said that the bill, once
> signed into law, could be another source of corruption. Instead of
> allowing the importation of medicines, Paras pressed for the regulation
> of distribution and sales of medicine in the market.
>
> President Arroyo earlier certified the proposed measure as urgent.
>
> Civil society groups had expressed fear the proposed bill would
> encounter snags in Congress, especially with the opposition raised by
> the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines.
>
> International NGO Oxfam earlier wrote both chambers of Congress calling
> for the immediate passage of the pending bills.
>
> The law, if passed, would allow parallel importation of cheaper generic
> versions of medicines.
>
> Civil society groups said the Philippines is entitled to reduce the
> price of patented medicines, market generic versions of patented
> medicines even when a patent monopoly still exists and ensure rapid and
> early introduction of generic medicines upon patent expiration under the
> Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement allows.
>
> Figures from the National Statistics Office show that the total family
> expenditures for medical care in 2000 increased by 13.7 percent from
> 1997 figures. Families spend P46 for medicine out of every P100 in
> health spending.
>
> Paras, however, said "importation is not the answer to the problem of
> the high cost of medicine."
>
> He said the importation of medicine is a very lucrative business. "This
> could become a source of corruption once a body is established (to)
> identify who are allowed to import," he said.
>
> After Paras? interpellation, Cua introduced amendments to the bill,
> including the creation of an oversight body to ensure that the bill?s
> intention is met.
>
> Makati Rep. Teodoro earlier in the evening asked representatives of a
> multinational drug company to leave the House session hall.
>
> Iloilo Rep. Janette Guarin told reporters that about 10 p.m., Teodoro
> was irked after he received a note from one of the representatives of
> Pfizer, telling him to question the quorum.
>
> The House took a break at about 8:30 p.m. and resumed session at 10 p.m.
> with only 30 lawmakers.
>
> During the break, representatives of the company reportedly got tired of
> waiting for the resumption of the session and sent the note to Locsin.
> The lawmaker reportedly felt offended and asked them to leave the hall.
>
> GMANews.TV tried but failed to get the side of the Pfizer
> representatives. Locsin declined an interview.
>
> The House adjourned the session at about 11:30 p.m.
>
>
>
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--
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wim.deceukelaire@intal.be | tel.: +32 2 209 23 55 | fax: +32 2 209 23 51
| mobile: +32 484 119231 | skype: wimdeceuk
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