BFAD renamed Food and Drug Administration

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo signed into law yesterday Republic Act 9711 empowering the newly created Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to seize health products found violating the law without any court order.

RA 9711 has replaced the Bureau of Food and Drugs with the FDA.

Under the new law, the FDA director, now an undersecretary, can declare in direct contempt any person who disregards any of his or her orders.

Fines and penalties for violating the law have also been increased.

The new law authorizes the FDA to retain all its income from various sources, apart from having an annual budget from the national government.

That provision would give the FDA the necessary funds to regulate products and establishments, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.

FDA director Nazarita Tacandong said RA 9711 would help eliminate unregistered and unsafe products in the market.

“With this law, we can strengthen our pharmaco-vigilance,” she said. 

“We’ll be able to make sure that only the safe and quality medicine will be out in the market.”

At present, FDA has some 400 inspectors in Metro Manila. 

The FDA needs some 600 more inspectors to effectively cover products, Tacandong said.

It has laboratories in Muntinlupa and Davao City, while a laboratory in Cebu is not yet operational.

The BFAD was originally the Food and Drug Administration under Republic Act 3720, the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1963.

During the Marcos administration, Executive Order 851 abolished the FDA and created the BFAD on Dec. 2, 1982.

After yesterday’s signing ceremony, the Department of Health turned over to the Philippine General Hospital P50 million for the procurement of a second angiography system.            – Marvin Sy, Sheila Crisostomo