TRADITIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE ACT OF 1997

Case Overview and Summary

Summary of the Traditional and Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA) of 1997

Guiding Principles
- Declares the policy to improve health care through developing traditional and alternative health care and integrating it into the national health care system (Section 2)
- Seeks to establish a legal basis for indigenous societies to own their traditional medicine knowledge and receive compensation when used commercially (Section 2)

Objectives (Section 3)
- Encourage research on traditional and alternative health care systems with public health impact
- Promote safe, effective, and cost-effective traditional, alternative, preventive, and curative health care modalities
- Develop training courses for various traditional and alternative health care modalities
- Formulate standards, guidelines, and codes of ethical practice for traditional and alternative health care practice, manufacture, quality control, and marketing
- Formulate policies to protect indigenous and natural health resources and technology from exploitation
- Formulate policies to strengthen the role of traditional and alternative health care delivery system
- Promote traditional and alternative health care in international and national conventions, seminars, and meetings

Definitions (Section 4)
- Traditional and alternative health care: knowledge, skills, and practices on health care other than biomedicine, used in prevention, diagnosis, and elimination of physical or mental disorders
- Traditional medicine: knowledge, skills, and practices on health care not explicable in modern scientific framework, recognized by people to maintain and improve health
- Biomedicine: medical care advocating therapy with remedies producing effects differing from the diseases treated
- Alternative health care modalities: non-allopathic or non-indigenous healing methods like reflexology, acupressure, chiropractics, nutritional therapy
- Herbal medicines: finished, labeled medicinal products containing active plant ingredients or combinations
- Natural product: foods that grow spontaneously in nature or prepared without additives, preservatives, artificial colors/flavors, or manufactured chemicals
- Manufacture: operations involved in production, preparation, processing, formulating, filling, packing, repacking, altering, ornamenting, finishing, or changing the container, wrapper, or labeling of a consumer product
- Traditional healers: relatively old, highly respected people with profound knowledge of traditional remedies
- Intellectual property rights: legal basis for indigenous communities to access, protect, control their cultural knowledge and products, including traditional medicines, and receive compensation

Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC) (Sections 5-11)
- Established as a body corporate attached to the Department of Health
- Powers and functions include research and development, technology transfer, policy formulation, training programs, public awareness, coordination with other agencies, formulating code of ethics and standards, and other related functions
- Headed by a Board of Trustees composed of government agency representatives and industry/sector representatives appointed by the President
- Headed by a Director General appointed by the President for a 6-year term

Promotion of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (Sections 12-15)
- Institute to promulgate a nationwide campaign and encourage participation of non-government organizations
- Institute to formulate research program on indigenous Philippine traditional health care practices
- Institute and Bureau of Food and Drugs to formulate standards and guidelines for manufacture, quality control, and marketing of traditional and alternative health care materials and products
- Manufacturers of traditional and alternative health care products to enjoy tax incentives under the Omnibus Investment Code
- Traditional and Alternative Health Care Development Fund created with P50,000,000 for the first year, P75,000,000 for the second year, and P100,000,000 for the third year from the earnings of Duty Free Philippines, with not more than 15% for administrative costs

Transitory Provisions (Sections 16-17)
- President to appoint Board members, Director General, and Deputy Director General(s) within 30 days of effectivity
- Functions, personnel, and assets of the Traditional Medicine Unit and pharmaceutical and herbal processing plants of the Department of Health to be transferred to the Institute
- Unexpended budget of merged offices to be utilized for establishing the Institute and initiating operations
- Incumbent officials and employees of affected offices to continue their functions and be absorbed by the Institute to the greatest extent possible

Miscellaneous Provisions (Sections 18-22)
- Institute to submit an annual accomplishment report to Congress for oversight functions (Section 18)
- Board to formulate implementing rules and regulations within 180 days of initial meeting and publish in a newspaper of general circulation (Section 19)
- Repealing clause for inconsistent laws, decrees, executive orders, and other laws (Section 20)
- Separability clause for unconstitutional or invalid provisions (Section 21)
- Effectivity 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or at least two newspapers of general circulation (Section 22)