Pia urges 14th Congress: Pass BFAD strengthening bill!

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today called on her colleagues in the Senate and House of Representatives to prioritize passage of the bill seeking to strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) when the 14th Congress resumes session tomorrow, April 13.

Barring any last-minute hitches, Cayetano expressed optimism that the consolidated version of the measure will be immediately approved by the bicameral conference committee and subsequently ratified in plenary by both chambers.

"This measure is meant to complement the landmark Cheaper Medicines Law that was passed last year. We can't have cheaper medicines coming in without the regulatory agency that will ensure the efficacy and quality of these products. This is specifically addressed by the BFAD strengthening bill that's now in its final stages at the bicameral level," the bill's principal author in the Senate related.

"Its urgency couldn't be overemphasized in the wake of recent incidents involving the health department's recall of peanut butter and pistachios products found to be tainted with salmonella bacteria. If we're serious about ensuring food safety and responding to public health emergencies like these, then this measure should be Number One Priority," added Cayetano, President of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), who just returned Friday from the annual IPU Congress in Ethiopia.

Senate Bill No.2645 seeks to expand BFAD's regulatory capacity by converting it into the Food, Drugs, Cosmetics and Devices Administration (FDCDA), patterned after the United States' Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA). The measure's counterpart in the Lower House, House Bill No. 3293, is being pushed by House Health Committee Chair Arthur Pingoy (2D, South Cotabato) and Vice Chairs Ferjenel Biron (4D, Iloilo) and Philip Pichay (1D, Surigao del Sur), among others.

"The FDCDA will be accorded expanded powers that the BFAD currently does not have. It can order the ban, recall or withdrawal of health products, including food, drugs, cosmetics and devices that fail safety standards."

The FDCDA will also have the authority to conduct spot checks on establishments for compliance, issue cease-and-desist orders and seize "violative" products, she added.

"The FDCDA's broad powers include accrediting private laboratories to complement its work, especially in times of public health emergencies." She maintained, however, that the agency will continue to assume primary jurisdiction in the collection of health products for testing purposes.

The Senate version also seeks to establish product testing laboratories in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and reinforce the agency's presence by maintaining field offices in all regions and inspectors in major ports of entry.

To augment the agency's budget, the FDCDA will be allowed to retain all fees, fines, royalties and other charges it collects without requiring prior approval from any government department.

Citing latest available data from BFAD, Cayetano said the agency only had 195 staff tasked to inspect 45,747 establishments selling food, drug and cosmetic products all over the country in 2006. Some of the worst discrepancies were seen in Region IV (only 13 inspectors for 6,827 establishments or 525 per inspector), Region I (6 inspectors for 2,748 establishments or 458 per inspector) and Region III (10 inspectors 4,254 establishments or 425 per inspector).

The agency's woes are compounded by its inadequate budget. BFAD spends an average of P271 for the inspection of one establishment. To cover 45,747 establishments, BFAD would need P12.4 million, but it only has an annual inspection budget of P2.4 million.

Additionally, around 50,954 products were registered with BFAD in 2006, but the agency was only able to test 16,000 samples of these products for safety standards due to insufficient budget, personnel and equipment.