Sen. Nancy Binay (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate PRIB)
MANILA, Philippines — Light skin is not the basis of good looks, said Senator Nancy Binay, amid the backlash against Mariel Padilla, wife of Senator Robin Padilla, for using glutathione drip inside the Senate building.
Binay, who has faced discrimination due to her dark skin color, also expressed concerns about the health implications of glutathione for skin whitening, especially since the health department declared it unsafe for such purposes.
“It’s not good [for] health kasi wala siyang FDA [Food and Drug Administration] approval, and hindi naman porke’t—sa akin din ang pag-whitening, hindi rin ‘yan batayan ng good looks,” the senator said over a Radyo 630 interview.
(It’s not good for health because it doesn’t have FDA [Food and Drug Administration] approval, and just because, for me, whitening is not a basis for good looks either.)
“Ang sa akin kasi we should always be comfortable doon sa skin na binigay sa atin ‘di ba. Sabi ko ang gulo nga eh, ang mga maputi pumupunta dito para magpaitim, ang maiitim naman nagpapaputi,” she added.
(For me, we should always be comfortable with the skin given to us, right? I think it’s confusing; the fair-skinned come here to darken their skin, while the dark-skinned strive to lighten theirs.)
Binay emphasized that everyone should “always be comfortable with our skin.”
“Doon talaga magkakaroon ka ng confidence, ‘yung acceptance ng kung ano ka,” she said.
(That’s where you’ll really gain confidence, in accepting who you really are.)
The Department of Health reiterated its reminder to the public last January that the FDA has not issued an approval for the use of intravenous glutathione for skin whitening.
This reminder came after a 38-year-old woman from Quezon City died allegedly due to complications from intravenous glutathione and stem cell therapy.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, Mariel shared a picture of herself receiving intravenous therapy in the Senate office, with her husband, Senator Padilla, also visible in the background.
“Drip anywhere is our motto! Hehehe I had an appointment with @dripinluxeph but I was going to be late so I had it done in my husband’s office. Hehe I never miss a drip because it really helps in so many ways. A collagen production, whitening, energy, metabolism, immunity and 50000 much more! So convenient and really effective, magaling talaga,” she said in the caption.