FDA seizes P56.8-M fake medicines

ABOUT P56.8 million worth of unregistered and counterfeit medicines were confiscated in the last eight months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said amid doubts over the agency’s ability to enforce its mandate.

“In the last eight months, the FDA has seized a total of P56.89 million worth of violative and counterfeit health products,” FDA Director General Paolo S. Teston told a Senate hearing, covering a period from June to December.

Mr. Teston said that from November 2025 to January 2026, the agency had monitored 3,307 online listings for unregistered and counterfeit products and taken down 1,531 online listings.

“Operations jointly with law enforcement agencies confidentially are still ongoing as we speak,” he added.

However, Senator Rafael T. Tulfo called out the agency for its alleged failure to address the proliferation of counterfeit and unregistered health products in social media.

“FDA, if we are serious about consumer protection, content creators who promote unregistered products should be held accountable,” he said.

Mr. Tulfo added that his team was able to purchase unsafe and unregistered health products in establishments inspected by the FDA last Oct. 17.

“The FDA is not perfect but the FDA and its people are working over and above of its limits. We are enforcing the law with the resource entrusted to us,” Mr. Teston said in his response. — Adrian H. Halili