Regulation of herbal drugs, food supplements sought

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile has filed Senate Bill 3075 that seeks to regulate herbal medicine and food or dietary supplements that have been flooding the country’s markets.

“While it is necessary to encourage the use of alternative medicine as well as the development of herbal and food supplements in line with our traditional medical practices, it is also imperative to protect the consumers and the public from possible health hazards,” Enrile said in his bill.

He said these products are currently not required to undergo testing by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).

He also noted that there is no law or agency that regulates these food supplements, although random testing had shown that some of them actually contain chemical products and other drugs that are not clearly indicated on their labels.

“If left unchecked and unregulated, these alternative remedies may pose serious threats and cause dire medical consequences to public health,” Enrile added.

The veteran lawmaker’s bill seeks to “establish standards for and adopt measures to regulate the manufacture, importation, marketing/promotion and distribution of herbal medicine and food or dietary supplements to protect the consuming public against unscrupulous manufacturers, importers and distributors of the same.”

“It is incumbent upon Congress to enact a measure that will not only address this concern but, more importantly, guarantee accessibility of the public to safe and affordable medicine,” the bill reads.

The measure proposes to prohibit false representation in marketing promotions that a product can improve or positively alter physical conditions or cure illness regardless of any disclaimer such as ‘No approved therapeutic claim.’

It also prohibits the “manufacture, sale, offering for sale, or transfer of any herbal medicine or food dietary supplement, and the like that are misbranded or adulterated or substandard,” among other acts.

Enrile had proposed a penalty of up to five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of not less than P1,000.

Meanwhile, Sen. Mar Roxas yesterday told local government units (LGUs) to take the lead in hastening the implementation of the Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicine Act of 2008 for the benefit of their constituents.

Roxas said he is not satisfied with the pace the national government is implementing the “landmark law.”

“The government is dragging its feet in implementing this law. I call on you to take the lead in making sure that your constituents could immediately avail of quality and affordable medicine,” he said.

Roxas, the author of the law, has been seeking the establishment of more Botika ng Bayan outlets across the country to ensure that cheaper but quality medicine is accessible to all.

He said local officials should acquire affordable medicine from abroad and put up pharmaceutical outlets themselves.

“I want the law to be implemented full-blast, especially for our elderly whose maintenance drugs are very expensive. It would be better if LGUs directly acquire cheaper drugs from manufacturing firms. That way, the waiting period for our citizens would be shorter,” Roxas said.