Senator Raffy Tulfo criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its negligence and inaction on the continued sale of unregistered products that pose health risks.
During the Senate Committee on Finance hearing where the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of Health was tackled, Tulfo expressed his outrage over the ineffectiveness of FDA advisories.
Despite issuing warnings to consumers about products being sold in the market that pose health risks and lack FDA approval, the agency fails to undertake follow through actions afterward, the legislator said.
One example is the GlutaGenC Glow Gummies, which reportedly caused illnesses among many buyers, including a child who became seriously ill. The incident even made it to primetime news, yet the said gummies are still being sold on Shopee, other online selling platforms, and in various stores.
“FDA only has 890 plantilla employees, which limits the ability to monitor the banned products.”
The FDA defended itself by saying it only has 890 plantilla employees, which limits its ability to monitor the banned products — an excuse the lawmaker found as unacceptable.
“If FDA is really serious, they can assign people to monitor these cases by simply calling major drugstores, shops, and online marketplaces.”
The senator argued that if FDA is really serious, they can assign people to monitor these cases by simply calling major drugstores, shops, and online marketplaces to check if they are still selling banned products.
He later challenged FDA Director-General Paolo Teston, saying that if by next hearing these banned products are still being sold in the market, he should resign from his post because the public is clearly not benefiting from his leadership.
Tulfo even suggested that it’s likely some suppliers of banned products are bribing FDA personnel, which is why they choose to turn a blind eye on this problem.
