MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has allegedly conspired with multinational drug firms to delay the imposition of maximum retail price (MRP) for essential medicines in the country, a senator claimed on Thursday.

Senator Manuel Roxas said he received information from reliable sources that the President recently held a closed door meeting with representatives of multinational drug firms, where they supposedly agreed to defer the imposition of the MRP.

“Sa meeting nila, napagkasunduan na ipagpaliban muna ang EO na magpapataw ng Maximum Retail Price (MRP) sa mga gamot. Ang kapalit, gagawa ng paraan ang big pharma companies na ibaba ang presyo ng gamot bago sumapit ang SONA (State of the Nation Adress) ni GMA (Arroyo's initial) sa July 28,” Roxas said in a statement.

The senator noted that as early as June 16, an Executive Order setting the MRP for 22 essential medicines has been submitted by the Department of Health (DoH).

The MRP list seeks to slash by half the prices of these drugs within reach of poor patients who are in need of life maintenance or at the brink of dying.

These drugs include the anti-hypertensive drug Norvasc (to P22.50 from P44.50); anti-diabetic Diamicron (to P7.35 from P14.75); antibiotic Zithromax (to P149.37 from P298.75); and antibiotic Augmentin suspension 60 ml (to P179.50 from P359).

“Sa meeting na iyon, nandoon daw ang Secretary of Health. Tinatanong kita, Secretary Duque, bakit hindi ka umalma sa kuntsabahang nasaksihan mo sa pagpupulong na iyon?” he said.

Roxas suspected that this "conspiracy" was engineered with the facilitation of an influential presidential adviser, who is also connected with one of the multinational pharmaceutical giants.

He did not identify the official.

“It is the poor patients that the President should call to Malacanang for a meeting so she can see for herself how hard it is to cling to dear life without affordable quality medication,” he said.

Roxas has been asking the President to sign the E0 and stop consultations with the pharmaceutical firms "as if they were the victims in this issue.”

He was also asking the executive to include Tamiflu -- now priced as high as P150 per tablet -- in the MRP list.

“Stop playing with the lives of the people and just implement the law, Mrs. President,” Roxas said.