Sen. Pia Cayetano. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senator Pia Cayetano on Thursday asked the Supreme Court that she be allowed to participate in the pending case filed by the Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) against the Food and Drug Administration.
PTI, a private organization representing the interest of the tobacco industry seeks to define the FDA’s authority to regulate tobacco and tobacco products. PTI members include Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc, Fortune Tobacco Corporation, La Suerte Cigar and Cigarette Factory, among others.
“I sponsored this law. I chaired the Bicameral Conference Committee that deliberated on this. The clear consensus of the legislators when they passed this law was to strengthen the FDA’s authority over all products affecting health, including tobacco. No one, not even the tobacco, can deny that tobacco and tobacco products adversely affect public health,” Cayetano said.
Health advocates also called on the high court to affirm the FDA’s power to regulate tobacco and tobacco products.
“(About) 240 Filipinos die due to tobacco-related diseases every single day. Many see this as just a statistic; they think that even if they smoke, this kind of thing cannot happen to them,” cancer survivor Emer Rojas said in a statement.