This file photo shows Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor during a briefing at the House of Representatives. INQUIRER.net file photo / Noy Morcoso
MANILA, Philippines — There should be consent before an individual receives the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin, Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor said Tuesday as he defended his move to distribute the drug to interested Quezon City residents.
In an interview with reporters on Tuesday, Defensor was asked who would take responsibility should there be reports of complications due to Ivermectin consumption.
Defensor did not directly answer the question but said that a user’s consent has to be secured first before they receive the drug.
“Before you are allowed to take it, may consent ‘yung tao. May consent naman ‘yung tao dun e. It was an informed consent […people should give consent. People have their consent],” Defensor said.
“And that is parang clinical practice naman talaga eh. Ito ipe-prescribe ko sa’yo and yung recipient pumapayag [And that is like clinical practice. This will be prescribe to you and that the recipient is allowing to get it],” he added.
According to Defensor, interested users are urged to send a private message so they can take their details for the compounding of the Ivermectin drug for human use.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health (DOH) have repeatedly said that there is no registered Ivermectin drug in the country for human use.
However, FDA Director General Eric Domingo said that licensed pharmacies can indeed compound Ivermectin for human use as long as a patient has a prescription from a doctor.
“We are following the FDA guidelines para dito [for this],” Defensor said.
While Domingo said that licensed pharmacies can indeed compound Ivermectin for human use as long as a patient has a prescription from a doctor, he also stressed that there is not enough data to say that the drug is effective to treat COVID-19, even if it is compounded for human use.