FDA seeks local gov’t help to stop sale of fake meds

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THE Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will ask local government units (LGUs) to pass ordinances that will prohibit sari-sari stores from selling medicines to prevent the sale of fake drugs, the agency’s deputy general, Oscar Gutierrez, said Monday night.

Gutierrez, during the Talk to the People address of President Duterte, reported that in the agency’s investigation of 185 sari-sari stores, 78 were found to be selling medicines, which is in in violation of the Pharmacy Act and the FDA Act.

Of those selling medicines, nine were also found to be selling fake medicines.

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Gutierrez said the FDA also found 13 brands of fake medicines, which are mostly coronavirus disease related medicines, but it was not clear if they also came from sari-sari stores.

“FDA thinks that the sari-sari stores are also victims. So actually, the sari-sari store has a license to operate from the local government. So we would like to work with the LGU to maybe pass an ordinance so sari-sari store do not buy or carry medicine,” Gutierrez said, adding that Davao de Oro province already has such an ordinance.

He reiterated that the public should only buy medicines from FDA-licensed drug stores. He said there are over 45,000 licensed drug stores nationwide.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano acknowledged the dangers of fake medicines and said he will issue a memorandum circular in connection with the campaign against selling fake medicines and to stop their sale in sari-sari stores.

Gutierrez said FDA has also reached out to online shopping sites such as Lazada and Shopee to determine violations in marketing the fake medicines using the platforms, as well as with Facebook for violative online posts that sell medicines.

He said a total of 371 violative online posts selling medicines had been removed from Lazada, Shopee, and Facebook as of this month, which is almost twice the 189 that were removed in 2020. FDA had 1,642 violative posts removed in 2021.

Gutierrez said FDA is working with Facebook through their collaborative “FB Consumer Police Channel CPC” which allows their agency to endorse violative posts, such as “health product-related that is violative of our national policies,” to Facebook and have it taken down within five days of their report.

President Duterte again urged Filipinos to “lay off these online shops” as some of those that offer and sell products online are just “really swindling people.”

Duterte also reiterated that establishments or individuals involved in selling fake medicines should be held accountable. He said that selling fake medicines is a “serious fraud” and violators should be jailed.

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