It would seem self-evident that politicians would consider it in their interest to pass a law effectively lowering the price of medicines. But then again, public interest must always be accompanied by public relations benefits. At times the whole thing seemed to be reduced to a grudge match involving the various factions of Visayan politics. And there were national figures who wanted to reap publicity rewards for the passage of the bill. The versions passed by the House of Representatives and Senate thus bogged down in the bicameral conference committee, the so-called third chamber of our legislature, in part because of the jockeying for credit that the politicians desired.

But ultimately it’s the danger that a cheaper medicine act represents to the status quo that ensured that the legislative mill would grind exceedingly slowly because all its provisions would have to be milled exceedingly fine in the conference committee.

The pharmaceutical industry plays with big bucks and it’s established a gigantic ecosystem based on perks and privileges that every patient knows, instantly, the moment he steps in a hospital or the average doctor’s waiting room and office. Someone has to pay for all the prescription pads and other pharmaceutical paraphernalia that clutter doctors’ offices—and it’s not, ultimately, either the doctors or the companies that do. It’s the patient who does. And through the nose.

The higher price of medicines in our country than in neighboring countries and other markets in the region was established quite early on and provided the political momentum for proposing and deliberating on a cheaper medicine law. What delayed the passage of the law was that big pharmaceutical companies furiously lobbied to preserve the status quo, while their competitors, manufacturers of generic medicines, lobbied as well to free up intellectual property restrictions. Legislators ended up taking sides, either for big pharmaceutical interests or the commercial interests of manufacturers and importers of generics.

Doctors also entered the fray, either for or against the manufacturers but also in defense of their own interests, whether as actual physicians or merchants engaged in the sale and distribution of medicines.

The strongest point made by the doctors was in demanding the freedom to continue prescribing branded medicines, while complying with existing laws requiring them to provide generics information to patients. The doctors said it would be wrong to tie the hands of physicians by requiring them to write down only generic information on prescriptions, which would give pharmacists too much discretion in what to sell to patients filling those prescriptions.

In the end, Makati City’s Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., a former corporate lawyer, and Sen. Manuel Roxas II, a former investment banker, ironed out the various obstacles to the passage of a cheaper medicine law. We can only hope that the result will be passage of the law by Thursday. The final obstacle was a proposed drug price board, which seemed to be a last-ditch effort to keep a veto power on prices in the hands of those responsible for keeping prices high in the first place—the pharmaceutical companies and the physicians they cultivate.

Instead, the law seems headed toward putting the authority to impose price controls in the hands of the secretary of health and the president of the Philippines. Which is no guarantee of transparency, but which at least makes someone politically accountable for any price controls (and accompanying punishments).

Where is the patient in all this? Waiting for the results. Which will still take time to be felt, regardless of whether or not the law is signed tomorrow or not. As it is, the primary benefit of the law is to give greater room for the free market to work. If it’s cheaper abroad, then a medicine can be brought in to force down the price of the same here at home. But importation is a physical process and so its effects will only be felt over time.

So, to borrow the slogan coined by a doctor-turned-senator, just DOH it! Though we immediately foresee the pharmaceutical companies striking back by laying off med reps and scrapping doctors’ junkets and gift baskets. But considering this is literally a life-and-death matter for many Filipinos, it’s a price we have to pay.