Panelo: Duterte ordered PNP to arrest peddlers of fake medicine

MANILA, Philippines — Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Philippine National Police to go after peddlers of fake medicine.

 

Panelo said those who manufacture, import, distribute, sell, administer, dispense, deliver or distribute fake drugs would be charged with economic sabotage.

 

The president’s legal adviser explained that distribution or administration of counterfeit drugs is a form of economic sabotage because it does not only undermine or weaken the national economy by hitting a large scale industry but also threatening the national security. He cited that this was provided in the definition of economic sabotage in Presidential Decree 1404.

 

“They also threaten national security by endangering the health of a vast majority of the people hence the said acts constitute economic sabotage,” Panelo said. 

 

Panelo stressed that the purchase and use of fake medicines, including fake paracetamol, poses potential danger or injury to consumers.

 

He also said that aside from health risks posed, the proliferation of counterfeit drug products may affect the supply and demand and affect the stability of prices. 

 

“The scale at which the pharmaceutical industry of the Philippines may be affected can also result in considerable loss of government revenues, specifically in the form of taxes,” Panelo added.

 

 

Duterte’s order to crackdown fake drugs came after the Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory informing the public of counterfeit paracetamol Biogesic 500 mg tablets being sold in the market.

 

The agency warned both consumers against its potential danger. It also reminded establishments and outlets against selling and or dispensing of the verified counterfeit drug product.

 

 

 

Panelo cited the conclusion of the Philippine Institute of Development Studies in its 2011 study that drugs and medicines account for 46 percent of the total medical out-of-pocket expenses of Philippine households. This percentage goes up for marginalized people.