Senator Win Gatchalian urged drugstores and retailers to ensure that medicines exempted from value-added tax (VAT) are readily available to improve the affordability of medicines for the benefit of consumers.
“Drugstores and retailers must ensure that the medicines covered by the VAT-free exemption are easily accessible to consumers as provided for by the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises or CREATE Act,” Gatchalian said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently endorsed to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) 17 more medicines exempted from the 12-percent VAT — eight of which are for diabetes, four are for the treatment of cancer, and three for mental illness.
Under the BIR rules, the effectivity of the latest VAT exemption started last November 25. This is the 6th time this year that the FDA updated the list of VAT-exempted medicines. Just last August, the BIR included in the list 15 drugs, seven of which are for the treatment of cancer, five are for hypertension, two for mental illnesses, and one for high cholesterol.
“I am delighted to hear that the list has been expanded as this would also increase the number of consumers who would benefit from the VAT-free provision of CREATE,” said Gatchalian, a co-author of the law and chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
Gatchalian emphasized that since many Filipinos are still reeling from the high prices of prime commodities, it is important for the government to provide support for those who are suffering from common illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the top three causes of death in the country in 2023 were heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease, accounting for a combined 40 percent of mortality.
“Dahil patuloy na nagdudusa ang marami sa ating mga kababayan sa mahal na presyo ng mga bilihin, importante na mabigyan sila ng suporta sa pagbili ng mga gamot,” he added. Inflation accelerated to 2.3% in October from 1.9% in September. The latest inflation figure, however, is lower than the 4.9% recorded in October 2023.
