Food and Drug Administration

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and quality of food, drugs, and cosmetics in the Philippines, including regulating imports, combating counterfeit medicines, and collaborating with other agencies to protect public health. Recent actions include sanctioning smuggled goods, transferring regulatory functions to the Department of Agriculture, and working with the Bureau of Internal Revenue to exempt essential medicines from VAT. The FDA continues to address challenges such as pharmacist shortages and the approval of new vaccines to improve healthcare access across the country.