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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Health chief to tap FDA, NBI vs false celebrity endorsement of supplements

Health chief to tap FDA, NBI vs false celebrity endorsement of supplements

Published Jul 4, 2023 08:25 am
Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro "Ted" Herbosa will instruct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to coordinate in tracking down scammers who use photos of social media personalities in fake advertisements of food and drug supplements. "I’ve seen this in social media; many of my friends, doctor friends who are popular and especially, have been victimized for a drug that they did not endorse using their photos taken out of social media—and these are really the scammers. So, this is under the realm—in DOH, this is under the realm of the FDA—they are a regulatory agency with police powers," said Herbosa in a press briefing on Tuesday, July 4. The health chief noted that online personalities such as Dr. Willie Ong and Dr. Tony Leachon filed cases with the Cybercrime Division of the NBI regarding the matter. However, posts with their names and photos illegally used are still circulating online through different accounts. Herbosa advised the public to make sure that the drugs they ingest received approval from the FDA. "Mayroon iyon sa lahat—sa bottle or sa box nakalagay 'FDA Approved' (Everything has that—on the bottle or in the box it says 'FDA Approved), and those are the ones that are legal. Many that come in are what we call illicit or smuggled from abroad—they are not registered brands, they are contraband products, and the FDA can actually confiscate or close down stores or shops that sell these even online," he said. On July 3, Senator Jinggoy Estrada suggested a probe into 'alarming' fake and misleading online celebrity endorsements on such products. "These advertisements mislead consumers into believing that these celebrities are using and endorsing food and medicinal products that are actually unregistered before the proper health authorities and not yet approved for mass distribution and public consumption," he said. Estrada filed Senate Resolution No. 666 for the creation of a Senate committee that will be in charge on the issue.

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NBI DOH Secretary Dr. Teodoro "Ted" Herbosa Department of Health (DOH) Senator Jinggoy Estrada FDA
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