MANILA, Philippines -- The cheaper medicines bill will finally become law when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signs it Friday morning in Laguna.

The President is set to sign the long-awaited Republic Act 9502 at 10 a.m. during ceremonies in Sta. Cruz, where she will inspect the new Laguna Chest Center building and award Philhealth cards to beneficiaries.

Congress ratified the bill on April 29 and transmitted it to Malacañang the last week of May.

The measure, officially the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008," seeks to:

• Prohibit the grant of new patents based only on newly-discovered uses of a known drug substance;
• Allow local generics firms to test, produce and register their generic versions of patented drugs, so these can be sold right upon patent expiry ("early working principle");
• Allow the government use of patented drugs when the public interest is at stake;
• Give the President the power to put price ceilings on various drugs, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Health. These drugs include those for chronic illnesses, for prevention of diseases, and those on the Philippine National Drug Formulary (PNDF) Essential Drug List;
• Strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration so that it could ensure the safety of medicines, by allowing it to retain its revenues for upgrading of its facilities, equipment and human resources; and
• Ensure the availability of affordable medicines by requiring drug outlets to carry a variety of brands for each drug, including those sourced from "parallel importation," to give the consumer more choices.