MANILA, Philippines - Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral is unfazed by the graft case filed against her before the Office of the Ombudsman by a group of manufacturers of herbal and dietary products over the translation of a warning sign on product packages.
“I’m not bothered. All we did was translate it from English to Filipino so that it can b understood by most Filipinos. Why don’t they want the public to understand? Does it mean that they are thriving on deceit?” Cabral told The STAR.
The case stemmed from an administrative order of the Department of Health (DOH) issued last March 18 to replace the warning “No Approved Therapeutic Claims” on the labels of herbal and dietary products to “Mahalagang Paalala:
Ang (name of product) Ay Hindi Gamot at Hindi Dapat Gamiting Panggamot sa Anumang Uri ng Sakit.”
Violators face imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine of not less than P500, 000.
In its complaint, the Chamber of Herbal Industries of the Philippines Inc. claimed that the order had caused the industry some P47.4 million in damages and injury in the form of cancelled advertisements and wasted advertising and promotional materials, excluding losses in sales.
The group had accused Cabral of violating Sec. 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“It should not have happened if they just informed us about that (cancellation of contract). But actually, the order did not take effect in March. We moved it to May 7 on the request of the Advertising Board,” Cabral said.
The DOH had decided to have the warning translated after realizing that a majority of Filipinos do not understand the English version.
“We are just doing our job – that is, to protect the health of the Filipinos. We just want to ensure truth in advertising,” Cabral stressed.