EDITORIAL: Impotent and Indecisive

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) is at it again, by issuing non-categorical statements concerning sensitive matters, this time on the efficacy or the risk entailed in administering Ivermectin. While explaining that the special permit for Ivermectin is not for selling, automatically FDA Director General Dr. Eric Domingo clarified that a compassionate special permit (CSP) for any medicine is neither a registration of nor a permit to market drug.

Dr. Domingo told the media that while one hospital has been granted a CSP for using human-grade Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 patients, the doctors are solely responsible for its possible side effects;

In effect, the FDA is simply dodging responsibility by tossing it to doctors. That has long been their practice as can be noticed in a number of broadcast commercials involving certain drugs, which are advertised almost as a wonder drug, to the point of invoking God’s name.

At the end of the advertisement a disclaimer follows to the effect that the drug being advertised is not for therapeutic purposes. The disclaimer becomes more suspect of an irregularity once it is aired almost in a garbled, fast forwarded manner that is almost impossible for the listener to understand.

Obviously, the disclaimer is intended to protect the FDA from any accountability or as a cover up impotency or indecisiveness in regulating the advertisement and sale of the products.

Worse, it implies irregularities. The FDA has a very serious social responsibility in order to protect public health. This is well defined in its mission and vision, which state:

“Mission -- To guarantee the safety, quality, purity, efficacy of products in order to protect and promote the right to health of the general public. Vision-- The Food and Drug Administration to be an internationally recognized center of excellence in health product regulation by 2026.”

By the way, whatever happened to the investigation about the mysterious vaccination of a large number of the members of the Presidential Security Group (PSG)?

This is being asked in the light of the pronouncement that President Rodrigo R. Duterte recently had to cancel his weekly televised public appearances owing to the fact that certain members of PSG had been tested positive for Covid-19 virus.

FDA should not simply remain mum with hands akimbo. Otherwise there is that sneaking suspicion that such agency is not performing its mandate either due to impotence or indecision.

FDA must say what it means and mean what it says. If not, then step aside, officially.