Raffy Tulfo accuses FDA of taking bribes, bias for big pharma firms

Sen. Raffy Tulfo — File photo from Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of favoring and accepting bribes from multinational pharmaceutical companies, resulting in the continued sale of unregistered products and shutdown of smaller pharmaceutical firms.

READ: ‘Bribery’, ‘conflict of interest’ plaguing FDA, says Senator Tulfo citing ‘sources’

Tulfo made the pronouncement during a Senate panel hearing on the proposed budget of the Department of Health for 2026.

During the hearing, Tulfo questioned why despite continuously releasing advisories and warnings on harmful medical products, the FDA does not seem to actually enforce it.

FDA Director General Paolo Teston, for his part, said that the advisories already include an order for law enforcement agencies to prevent such products’ sale, adding that the FDA does not have enough capacity to do it by itself as it only has 890 plantilla and 300 contract of service personnel.

But Tulfo pointed out that even just one or two researchers can check if their advisories are being enforced.

“I only have four plantilla researchers, and yet we were able to investigate this,” said Tulfo speaking in Filipino, adding that they found one of the banned products in online shopping apps and even mainstream pharmacies.

“Don’t use that excuse on me about having 800 personnel …  that’s already more than enough. If there’s a will, there’s a way; if there’s none, there will always be excuses,” he added in a mix of Filipino and English.

Teston then responded that the agency is already coordinating with pharmacies and online shopping platforms to curb the illicit sale, but Tulfo interjected, insisting that the real reason it persists is due to the bribes the FDA allegedly receives from manufacturers and suppliers.

“One of the most corrupt agencies in the Philippines is the FDA, and many pharmaceutical companies can attest to that,” said Tulfo in Filipino.

“So many small pharmaceutical companies are being forced to close because you favor these multinational firms,” he added.

Tulfo then went on to cite a case he previously encountered where a smaller pharmaceutical firm introduced a mosquito spray that rivaled a popular brand.

The senator alleged that the FDA deliberately withheld the smaller firm’s license renewal over the flimsiest grounds—such as a typographical error in the address—to protect the larger competitor.

“You withheld the license, you withheld the renewal because you were bribed,” said Tulfo.

Tulfo then pressed the FDA chief on what concrete actions he will take to stop the continued online sale of banned products, warning that if the FDA continues to be ineffective, he would challenge Teston to step down.

“What should be done? What if these [products] are still available on Shopee and we can still buy them? What am I supposed to do? I will challenge you to resign,” said Tulfo. /jpv