Health group vs ‘drug
lords’
The Health Alliance
for Democracy (Head) lauded in a June 3 statement the campaign for
low-cost and safe medicine by KilosBayan para sa Kalusugan, a broad
alliance of health advocates.
“We must put an end
to the monopoly pricing being dictated by transnational and multinational
corporations,” said Head secretary general Dr. Gene Nisperos. He said
these companies are “literally ‘drug lords’, no different from the jueteng
lords that bleed our people dry of their last centavo.”
According to Head, 95
percent of the country’s drug industry is controlled by foreign
corporations, with United Laboratories having the biggest share of 23
percent. Eighty percent of drug distribution is controlled by TNC Zuellig
while its sister company Interphil controls 75 percent of drug
manufacturing. Mercury drug, on the other hand, controls 75 percent of
retailing.
The group also said
the prices of medicine in the country rank among the highest in the world.
It cited the case of the drug Felodepine which is used to treat
hypertension. Felodepine is being sold here as Plendil by Astra-Zeneca for
P65 but can be bought only for P35 in Thailand and P10 in India – sold by
the same company. Bulatlat
* * *
POEA officials’
‘incentive allowance’ taken from OFW funds – MSP
The Migrante Sectoral
Party (MSP) charged in a June 3 statement that the Philippine Overseas
Employment Administration’s (POEA) of illegally withdrawing P24.048
million from the Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFW) trust funds in order to
grant an “incentive allowance” to its high bureaucrats.
The group also cited
the Commission on Audit’s statement that such use of OWWA funds is
unauthorized, which the POEA has been doing for the past three years for a
total grant of about P40 million in incentives and allowances to its
officials.
“They have the gall
to do this because President Arroyo dispenses perks in this way, too,”
said MSP chair Connie Bragas-Regalado.
MSP said POEA executives were issued mobile phones and downloaded about
P796,000 worth of games, ring tones, picture messages and other
unauthorized items. The agency also incurred, the group added, other
charges amounting to P308,747 in the use of the mobile phones, in addition
to the fixed charges of P400,002 due to subscription to Globe lines or
plans.
MSP called on Congress to investigate POEAs’ high officials and prosecute
them for the irregularities. Bulatlat
* * *
Inutile anti-jueteng
campaign
Party-list Anakpawis
Rep. Crispin Beltran said June 2 that with the admission by Philippine
National Police (PNP) Director General Arturo Lomibao of PNP’s failure to
stop jueteng (an illegal numbers game), “the PNP is already washing
its hand of its responsibility to put an end to the illegal numbers game
and round up the gambling lords that run the syndicates.”
He said that more
than the PNP’s lack of manpower or skills, the problem in fighting
jueteng lies with the higher-ups, “many of whom are alleged to be on
the payroll of jueteng lords and ensure the number game's
proliferation and smooth operations in the provinces."
He also said that
even Lomibao himself is being suspected to be involved in jueteng
as a syndicate protector.
"The credibility of
the very people tasked to put an end to the gambling network is even
questionable - so it's not surprising that the campaign to put an end to
jueteng is just going around in circles,” Beltran said. Bulatlat
BACK TO
TOP ■
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION ■
COMMENT
© 2004 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications
Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided
its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
