Vergeire to pharma firms: Prove bribery claims

MANILA, Philippines — Pharmaceutical firms that claim Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials demanded bribes from them should come out and present evidence, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

During a press briefing yesterday, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said these companies accused the FDA officials of asking for bribes to speed up the approval of their products.

“We request that if these pharmaceutical companies really have evidences to provide, please submit it to the Office of the (DOH) Secretary so that we can be able to investigate it at once, and we can address it, and provide appropriate measures against those who are in violation,” she said.

Vergeire added that the Office of the DOH Secretary “is going to wait for the submission of these (pieces of) evidence so that we can provide appropriate measures.”

The DOH is willing to look into the matter but would require the help of affected parties, according to Vergeire.

“Until we see the evidence, until we are able to investigate this, we cannot just give any judgment on this,” she said.

During the Senate deliberations on the DOH budget for 2023, Sen. Raffy Tulfo claimed that some corrupt officials in the FDA – an agency under the DOH – are asking for bribes ranging from P5 million to P20 million.

The bribes are supposedly for hastening the issuance of Certificates of Product Registration to the companies.