By Fernan Marasigan, Reporter
Business Mirror – September 21, 2007

MEMBERS of the House Committee on Industry have urged the administration to use its P1-billion mass communications budget and its network of television and radio stations to promote the merits of using affordable quality generic drugs.

The recommendation was made after officials of the Department of Health (DOH) complained to them that “generic drugs are harmed by negative propaganda.”

A presentation by the Philippine International Trading Corp. (PITC) in the public hearing held Wednesday on the cheaper medicine bill also lamented the move of some industry sectors to vilify drugs sourced abroad.

Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino Rep. Antonio Alvarez of Palawan, committee chairman, said the passage of a cheaper medicine law should be accompanied by a program that will educate the people on the benefits of using generic drugs.

“We can legislate a system that will make cheaper medicines available but we can’t legislate the patronage of these by our people,” said Alvarez.

He said “there are still misconceptions that when a drug doesn’t have a brand or an attractive label, that it’s not that effective.”

Alvarez, committee chairman, stressed the passage of cheaper medicines law should be accompanied by a program that educates the people on the benefits of generic drugs.

“We can legislate a system that will make cheaper medicines available, but we can’t legislate the patronage of these by our people,” Alvarez noted.

According to him, “there are still misconceptions that when a drug doesn’t have a brand or an attractive label, then it is not that effective.”

The DOH, in a position paper, said sales of generic drugs are puny compared to those of branded medicines. The latter posted sales of P63.2 billion in 2002 while only P2.4 billion worth of generics were bought in the same year.

“But this is not to say that Filipinos do not want generic drugs because an SWS survey has shown that six in 10 Filipinos said they have bought generic drugs. What must be done is to positively reinforce the qualities of generics as reliable and affordable,” he said.

Alvarez said the government can boost the drive to popularize the use of generic drugs by using its P930-million “mass communications” budget for 2008 for “programs and plugs” that would extol the benefits of generic drugs.

Seven agencies under the Office of the Press Secretary have a combined budget of P880 million for 2008 while PTV-4 will be given a subsidy of P50 million for its operations.

The government has two other TV networks, Channels 9 and 13, both sequestered from alleged Marcos cronies.

Alvarez noted that to make money, the three stations have to sell block time to advertisers of “weight-loss drugs and machines, or things that would increase one’s height or whiten one’s skin.”

“If they can give air time to these products, then perhaps they can insert once in a while in their regular programming public service announcements on essential generic drugs. After all, these are the pharmaceutical preparations that need to be pushed,” said Alvarez.

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