Manila: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized PHP82.4 million worth of violative health and food products and overhauled its digital filing systems. The FDA's intensified operations resulted in the seizure of PHP75.8 million worth of violative health products since January 2026, along with PHP6.6 million in illegal and expired food items.
According to Philippines News Agency, the agency's digital transformation focused on purging the market of unsafe goods while cutting bureaucratic red tape. Its enforcement arm conducted 2,085 operations across the country, coupled with a digital sweep that took down a "substantial number" of illegal online health product listings.
To complement these field operations, FDA Director General Paolo Teston prioritized transparency and ease of reporting through these new digital tools:
- e-Sumbong Platform: A new channel for the public to report consumer violations.
- FDA Verification Portal: A transparency tool providing public access to regulatory information, now featuring 2,313 value-added tax (VAT)-exempt health products.
- AI Integration: The deployment of artificial intelligence with Optical Character Recognition technology to accelerate the pre-assessment of License to Operate applications.
The agency processed 346 good manufacturing practice (GMP) applications and conducted 305 GMP inspections. The FDA's Food and Drug Action Center was reopened and expanded, and its contact center was upgraded into a BPO-style system to provide faster and more responsive services.
