Much ado about rolling and flying coffins BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 09/02/2010

Much ado about rolling and flying coffins

BLURBAL THRUSTS

Louie Logarta

09/02/2010
Associate Justice Noel Tijam of the Court of Appeals has turned out to be the knight in shining armor of an estimated 10 million PWDs (people with disability) all over the country for upholding their right to a 20-percent discount in the purchase of medicines as mandated by in the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons.

It was a well-received decision penned by Justice Tijam of the CA’s Eleventh Division wherein he threw out a petition filed by the Drugstores Association of the Philippines and allies Save More Drug of the SM group, Manson Drug Corp., Northern Luzon Drug Corp. and South Star Drug Inc. seeking to nullify said discount being granted to PWDs, claiming several provisions of the PWD law were “unconstitutional.”

Tijam countered that the questioned discount is in fact constitutional because it is a legitimate exercise of police power by the State.

“While the Constitution protects property rights, petitioners must accept the realities of business and the State, in the exercise of police power, can intervene in the operations of a business which may result in the impairment of property rights in the process… based on the foregoing reasoning and justification, we find that the grant of 20 percent discount on the purchased medicines of PWDs is similarly considered a valid exercise of police power of the State, hence, it is constitutional.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100902com4.html