Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 22) — People can present complaints regarding alleged irregularities in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but these should be backed with proof, the Department of Health (DOH) said on Tuesday.
“The Food and Drug Administration, being an office under the Office of the Secretary of Health, so we are open to these kinds of issues being thrown at us,” DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a media briefing.
“But we request also that this pharmaceutical company really have evidences to provide. Please submit it to the Office of the Secretary of Health,” Vergeire added.
The DOH official was responding to the claims of Senator Raffy Tulfo regarding alleged corrupt practices in the regulatory body.
During Senate deliberations on the proposed 2023 budget of the DOH, Tulfo cited a complaint from a pharmaceutical company that waited for at least three years for its certificate of product registration renewal.
Tulfo said he was informed that the “asking price” for each product runs in the millions.
READ: Tulfo claims ₱5M to ₱20M bribery in FDA for product approval
Vergeire said proof of allegations is necessary to determine appropriate actions.
“So that we can be able to investigate it at once and we can address it and provide appropriate measures against those who are in violation,” she said. “Hangga’t hindi natin nakikita ang ebidensya, hindi tayo makapagbigay ng judgement on this [Until we see evidence, we cannot give judgment on this].”
Vergeire said the Office of the Secretary will wait for the evidence on supposed anomalies in the FDA.
CNN Philippines’ correspondent AC Nicholls contributed to this report.
