Everyday here in the Philippines, thousands of people die not because they are uncurable, but because they cannot afford the medicine for their illnesses. Despite the same medicine being cheaper in our neighboring countries, prices are still protected here for the benefit of select few Big Foreign Pharmaceutical Companies.
Since they are cheaper in our neighboring countries, the government through PTIC tried to import them and sell them through the botica ng bayan outlets, but the Big Foreign Pharma companies threatened to sue the government, saying they are infringing on their patents.
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"Why are the prices of medicine in the Philippines so high? Because of the Intellectual Property Code which gives a pharmaceutical company that discovered or developed a medicine a 25-year patent on that medicine. This patent gives it a monopoly to produce and sell that medicine. Without any competition, it can sell its medicine at any price it wants. The policy of multinational pharmaceutical companies here is to price their medicines for “as much as the market can bear.” That is why prices of their drugs here are sky-high. Filipinos are forced to buy them because they have no choice. There are no competing products."
"Why are drug prices in other Asian nations much lower? Because they have amended their Intellectual Property Code or passed laws to allow their own pharmaceutical companies to manufacture the same drugs under certain conditions. On the other hand, the IPC in force here does not even allow the importation of cheaper medicines that are the same as those sold here by multinational companies—even if these medicines are produced by their satellite companies. Any importer, government or private, faces the threat of a court suit from these multinational companies that do not want imported drugs to compete with their products."
-- From inquirer.net Neal Cruz June 13, 2007
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The sad part here is these companies earn the humongous profits, yet they don't pay the income tax here! Since the local subsidiary don't have much expenses here in the Philippines, the foreign mother firm charges exorbitant fees to the subsidiary, allowing the foreign mother firm to absorb the profit, offset their foreign expenses and pay less tax elsewhere.
Although some of our lawmakers have seen the light and have exerted efforts to correct this gap, our congress still does not have enough maturity to produce or amend the necessary laws for medicine prices to be at par with our region. We still have the 2nd highest cost of medicine in Asia. The Senate actually passed the bill just this year before Congress went on recess on February. But the House of Representatives were not able to pass their version, I wonder why??? During February's House deliberations, a lawyer of one Foreign Pharmaceutical firm slipped a note to one congressman asking him to question the quorum. Is this enough evidence that they won't give up their exorbitant profits easily? Their press release is they are engaged in "assertive advocacy" and not concerned by the "loss in profits". Yeah right.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Kobe Bryant Mock Trade Scenario LA-NJ-NY
Lakers give up
Kobe Bryant
Luke Walton
Ronny Turiaf
Lakers Receive
Vince Carter
David Lee
Nate Robinson
Boston Nachbar
Lakers Projected Lineup
Bynum/Odom/Lee/Carter/Robinson
NJ Gives Up
Vince Carter
Boston Nachbar
NJ Receives
Quentin Richardson
Jamal Crawford
Ronnie Turiaf
NJ Projected Lineup
Krstic/Turiaf/Jefferson/Crawford/Kidd
6th man Richardson
NY Gives Up
Quentin Richardson
David Lee
Jamal Crawford
NY Receives
Kobe Bryant
Luke Walton
NY Projected Lineup
Curry/Frye/Walton/Bryant/Marbury
Kobe Bryant
Luke Walton
Ronny Turiaf
Lakers Receive
Vince Carter
David Lee
Nate Robinson
Boston Nachbar
Lakers Projected Lineup
Bynum/Odom/Lee/Carter/Robinson
NJ Gives Up
Vince Carter
Boston Nachbar
NJ Receives
Quentin Richardson
Jamal Crawford
Ronnie Turiaf
NJ Projected Lineup
Krstic/Turiaf/Jefferson/Crawford/Kidd
6th man Richardson
NY Gives Up
Quentin Richardson
David Lee
Jamal Crawford
NY Receives
Kobe Bryant
Luke Walton
NY Projected Lineup
Curry/Frye/Walton/Bryant/Marbury
Assists Analyzed - Phil Jackson Coached Teams
Of all Phil Jackson coached teams, no point guard has ever averaged more than 5.5 assists per game. Only Gary Payton did 5.5apg in the 2003-04 season.
Best assists per game average in a season belonged to Scottie Pippen who averaged 7.0 apg in the 1991-92 season wherein he had an astonishing 21 ppg 7.7 rpg 7.0 apg season.
Best APG Seasons Under Phil Jackson
Player APG Season
Scottie Pippen 7.0 91-92
Scottie Pippen 6.3 92-93
Michael Jordan 6.3 89-90
Scottie Pippen 6.2 90-91
Michael Jordan 6.1 91-92
Scottie Pippen 5.9 95-96
Kobe Bryant 5.9 02-03
Scottie Pippen 5.8 97-98
Scottie Pippen 5.7 96-97
Scottie Pippen 5.6 93-94
Kobe Bryant 5.5 01-02
Gary Payton 5.5 03-04
Lamar Odom 5.5 05-06
Only 2 players have surpassed the 6 apg mark in PJ-coached teams and this was all on or before the 92-93 season.
Friday, May 25, 2007
NBA: Portland and Seattle Winners in '07 NBA Lottery
Portland and Seattle won 1st and 2nd picks respectively in the just concluded 2007 NBA Lottery. They get to pick 1st in what is perceived to be one of the deepest drafts in the past decade.
Headlining this year's lineup are Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. The debate here again is do you pick the once-in-a-decade 7-foot center with huge potential upside, or do you pick the polished college guy with the sure talent and skills? Whomever they get to pick, both Portland and Seattle are already regarded as winners. But there are a lot of what-ifs and history shows us of the mistakes made in the past.
For example, what if the Houston Rockets picked Michael Jordan (3rd pick) instead of Hakeem Olajuwon as the top pick in the 1984 Draft? Although Hakeem won 2 championships, MJ won 6 and is regarded as the best ever to lace up a pair of basketball shoes.
What if Michael Jordan (as the Wizards' GM) picked Pau Gasol (3rd pick) or Joe Johnson (10th pick) instead of Kwame Brown as the top pick in the 2001 Draft? It would've been nice for Agent Zero to have Caron, Jamison and Pau!
The LA Clippers picked Olowokandi as the 1st pick in the 1998 Draft. Can you imagine top Clipper Elton Brand now playing beside either Vince Carter (5th), Antawn Jamison (4th), Paul Pierce (10th) or Dirk Nowitzki (9th)?
Of course these are purely what-if scenarios. Tough as it is, it's almost impossible to predict how things can turn out or who would be the best of the bunch. Kwame was considered raw 7-foot center, but so were Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire. Up to now they're still debating the Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafur pick. Almost all of the past seven drafts have put height over talent:
2006 Bargnani 6'10 (Brandon Roy 6'6 6th pick ROY)
2005 Bogut 7'0 (Chris Paul 6'3 4th pick ROY)
2002 Yao 7'5 (Amare Stoudemire 6'10 9th pick ROY)
2000 Martin 6'9 (Mike Miller 6'7 5th pick ROY)
2003 Lebron James as 1st pick, but Darko Milicic 7'0 over Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade
2001 1st Kwame Brown 6'11, 2nd Tyson Chandler 7'0, 3rd Pau Gasol 7'0, 4th Eddie Curry 7'0. Only 1 made the all-rookie 1st and 2nd teams.
All-Rookie team was Gasol, Battier 6'8, Kirilenko 6'8, Parker 6'2, jason Richardson 6'6
Other notables in 2nd team were Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Jamaal Tinsley
How will the picks end up this year? Oden might be the next David Robinson, or even Bill Russell. Durant might be a 6'10 Tracy McGrady. Draft day is near and there looks to be a lot more wheeling-and-dealing before we know which team drafts which player.
Headlining this year's lineup are Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. The debate here again is do you pick the once-in-a-decade 7-foot center with huge potential upside, or do you pick the polished college guy with the sure talent and skills? Whomever they get to pick, both Portland and Seattle are already regarded as winners. But there are a lot of what-ifs and history shows us of the mistakes made in the past.
For example, what if the Houston Rockets picked Michael Jordan (3rd pick) instead of Hakeem Olajuwon as the top pick in the 1984 Draft? Although Hakeem won 2 championships, MJ won 6 and is regarded as the best ever to lace up a pair of basketball shoes.
What if Michael Jordan (as the Wizards' GM) picked Pau Gasol (3rd pick) or Joe Johnson (10th pick) instead of Kwame Brown as the top pick in the 2001 Draft? It would've been nice for Agent Zero to have Caron, Jamison and Pau!
The LA Clippers picked Olowokandi as the 1st pick in the 1998 Draft. Can you imagine top Clipper Elton Brand now playing beside either Vince Carter (5th), Antawn Jamison (4th), Paul Pierce (10th) or Dirk Nowitzki (9th)?
Of course these are purely what-if scenarios. Tough as it is, it's almost impossible to predict how things can turn out or who would be the best of the bunch. Kwame was considered raw 7-foot center, but so were Yao Ming and Amare Stoudemire. Up to now they're still debating the Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafur pick. Almost all of the past seven drafts have put height over talent:
2006 Bargnani 6'10 (Brandon Roy 6'6 6th pick ROY)
2005 Bogut 7'0 (Chris Paul 6'3 4th pick ROY)
2002 Yao 7'5 (Amare Stoudemire 6'10 9th pick ROY)
2000 Martin 6'9 (Mike Miller 6'7 5th pick ROY)
2003 Lebron James as 1st pick, but Darko Milicic 7'0 over Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade
2001 1st Kwame Brown 6'11, 2nd Tyson Chandler 7'0, 3rd Pau Gasol 7'0, 4th Eddie Curry 7'0. Only 1 made the all-rookie 1st and 2nd teams.
All-Rookie team was Gasol, Battier 6'8, Kirilenko 6'8, Parker 6'2, jason Richardson 6'6
Other notables in 2nd team were Richard Jefferson, Joe Johnson, Jamaal Tinsley
How will the picks end up this year? Oden might be the next David Robinson, or even Bill Russell. Durant might be a 6'10 Tracy McGrady. Draft day is near and there looks to be a lot more wheeling-and-dealing before we know which team drafts which player.
Elections Just Ended - Hopeful for Continuous Beneficial Changes
Thankfully, the 2007 Mid-term elections ended relatively peaceful and the Philippines is now going thru the painful counting and canvassing process. Although the Philippine voting population have matured a bit, we still have a long way to go.
What I meant by maturing is that popularity is not the best bet anymore to being voted in public office. We see Richard Gomez and Cesar Montano faring badly in the senate race, Manny Pacquiao losing by a landslide, Christopher de Leon a non-factor in the the vice gubernatorial race in Batangas.
Also, my no. 1 reason for saying we are maturing is the defeat of Garciliano in Bukidnon. I would have either been ashamed to be called a Filipino, or would not recognize Bukidnon as a Philippine territory if Garci would have won.
On the other hand, we still see the same election related problems in Mindanao. Maguindanao and Lanao voting were obviously rigged, but the COMELEC still affords to sidestep the issue and refuses to investigate without witnesses/evidence. If you lived there, would you still vote after 2 successive elections of the same cheating? A lot of people don't have evidence their votes are not being counted and already don't want to vote anymore, what else if it's already 'garapalan' cheating like in those places?
Another point I see is people don't understand how the government works. I admit I voted for Ralph Recto. People attacked him and did not vote for him because he authored the E-VAT law. I would have thought only the masa did not vote for him because of this line of thinking, but almost everyone I know did not vote for him (which I suspect is because of E-VAT). I am not a Recto fan or a Vilmanian, I actually almost did not vote for him because of the way he reacted (angas) to his brother, who initially wanted to run for Batangas governor, but I believe and understood E-VAT was beneficial to the Philippines.
To reiterate my point, Ralph Recto did not singlehandedly impose the E-VAT law on us. To form a tax law or any other law, you need to have majority of the 200+ congressmen plus another majority of the 24 senators of the land to approve the tax law being proposed. Once you get to convince the almost 120 people to approve it in congress, the president then signs this into law if he/she approves of it. I don't understand why Recto was being singled out by the Filipino electorate on this matter? Even a well-known DZMM broadcaster was saying in his daily show -- 'Basta ako di ko boboto si Recto! Pag gusto nyo ng E-VAT eh di iboto nyo sya'.
We have to face reality. The Philippines has a huge amount of debt. Without the E-VAT law, how do you expect the Philippines to pay for it? If there is no E-VAT law, we would have borrowed more in the last 2 years, in the tune of at least P180 billion pesos additional debt.
We always talk about building a better Philippines for our children, the E-VAT law is one step towards that goal. By swallowing the bitter pill, we choose to slowly chip away at the gargantuan amount of debt that hopefully will be completely paid one day for the betterment of our country and especially for our children. As one US President once said, "It is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" We always hear people complaining but give no effort in helping. When the peso was 53-56, people were complaining that peso is so devalued and commodity prices were going up. Now it's down to 45-46.50, people are now complaining that it's too low that its hurting exports and OFW families.
Nation building requires everyone's help via the Filipino trait of Bayanihan. The already in trillions of pesos of Philippine debt is not going to go away by itself. How do you want to pay for it? Start paying it now little by little, or not paying now borrowing more and your children paying for it, in addition to the Philippine Peso being worth 100+ to 1 US Dollar?
What I meant by maturing is that popularity is not the best bet anymore to being voted in public office. We see Richard Gomez and Cesar Montano faring badly in the senate race, Manny Pacquiao losing by a landslide, Christopher de Leon a non-factor in the the vice gubernatorial race in Batangas.
Also, my no. 1 reason for saying we are maturing is the defeat of Garciliano in Bukidnon. I would have either been ashamed to be called a Filipino, or would not recognize Bukidnon as a Philippine territory if Garci would have won.
On the other hand, we still see the same election related problems in Mindanao. Maguindanao and Lanao voting were obviously rigged, but the COMELEC still affords to sidestep the issue and refuses to investigate without witnesses/evidence. If you lived there, would you still vote after 2 successive elections of the same cheating? A lot of people don't have evidence their votes are not being counted and already don't want to vote anymore, what else if it's already 'garapalan' cheating like in those places?
Another point I see is people don't understand how the government works. I admit I voted for Ralph Recto. People attacked him and did not vote for him because he authored the E-VAT law. I would have thought only the masa did not vote for him because of this line of thinking, but almost everyone I know did not vote for him (which I suspect is because of E-VAT). I am not a Recto fan or a Vilmanian, I actually almost did not vote for him because of the way he reacted (angas) to his brother, who initially wanted to run for Batangas governor, but I believe and understood E-VAT was beneficial to the Philippines.
To reiterate my point, Ralph Recto did not singlehandedly impose the E-VAT law on us. To form a tax law or any other law, you need to have majority of the 200+ congressmen plus another majority of the 24 senators of the land to approve the tax law being proposed. Once you get to convince the almost 120 people to approve it in congress, the president then signs this into law if he/she approves of it. I don't understand why Recto was being singled out by the Filipino electorate on this matter? Even a well-known DZMM broadcaster was saying in his daily show -- 'Basta ako di ko boboto si Recto! Pag gusto nyo ng E-VAT eh di iboto nyo sya'.
We have to face reality. The Philippines has a huge amount of debt. Without the E-VAT law, how do you expect the Philippines to pay for it? If there is no E-VAT law, we would have borrowed more in the last 2 years, in the tune of at least P180 billion pesos additional debt.
We always talk about building a better Philippines for our children, the E-VAT law is one step towards that goal. By swallowing the bitter pill, we choose to slowly chip away at the gargantuan amount of debt that hopefully will be completely paid one day for the betterment of our country and especially for our children. As one US President once said, "It is not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!" We always hear people complaining but give no effort in helping. When the peso was 53-56, people were complaining that peso is so devalued and commodity prices were going up. Now it's down to 45-46.50, people are now complaining that it's too low that its hurting exports and OFW families.
Nation building requires everyone's help via the Filipino trait of Bayanihan. The already in trillions of pesos of Philippine debt is not going to go away by itself. How do you want to pay for it? Start paying it now little by little, or not paying now borrowing more and your children paying for it, in addition to the Philippine Peso being worth 100+ to 1 US Dollar?
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