The European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines said it strongly opposes the enforcement of Executive Order No. 104 entitled “Improving Access to Healthcare through the Regulation of Prices in the Retail of Drugs and Medicines”.
ECCP instead urged the government to consider increasing the budget for health and medicine subsidies. It said recommended expanding pooled procurement and multi-year contracts to increase volume of healthcare products and to institutionalize price negotiation based on sound review of medicine prices and economic viability of reduced prices of pharmaceutical products.
It said a temporary price freeze on medicines listed under EO No. 104 could be implemented under a declaration of a public health emergency.
“These measures will help create a business environment that is conducive to research, development and innovation, resulting in the improved capacity of the Philippine healthcare system. Ultimately, the effective implementation of such policies will help build the country’s resilience to the current and emerging public health threats,” the group said.