CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Governor Dennis Pineda and the Sangguniang Panlalawigan have called officials of several agencies to a meeting on Wednesday to ready the convening of the Local Price Coordinating Council (LPCC) that would set price ceilings on medicines used in treating COVID-19 patients.
Governor Pineda has wanted a pro-active LPCC as he received complaints that patients and their families are made to pay exorbitant prices for medicines in treating the virus.
The purchase price of Remdesivir is known to fetch P3,500 per 100 mg vial. But some private hospitals charge from between P8,000 to P22,000, a PhilHealth official reported, which a Department of Health executive confirmed. These exceed the P1,500 to P8,200 suggested retail price set in DOH Department Circular No. 2021-0291.
“We are in an emergency situation and the Delta variant is on us. This is no time to milk dry people who are infected of the virus. Your provincial government is intervening by regulating the prices and penalizing violators,” he said.
The National Bureau of Investigation and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group are monitoring the sales of Remdisivir and other essential medicines in the market. The agencies have not received complaints of fake Remdisivir so far.
At the request of Governor Pineda and Vice Governor Lilia Pineda, Board Member Atty. Jun Canlas pushed for the full activation of the LPCC because the body, chaired by the governor, has the mandate to set price ceilings and file criminal charges against violators of the Price Act of 1992 (Republic Act No. 7581). END
