The Food and Drug Administration on Friday vowed to go after scammers who are using showbiz personalities and prominent doctors in fake advertisements of food and drug supplements.
At a weekly forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency in Quezon City, Food and Drug Administration director general Samuel Zacate said many unregistered supplements are being sold on social media.
“Three days ago, a colleague of mine being used in a fake endorsement had called my attention. I won’t mention his name. Two months ago, I came across this issue of fake ads. They easily disappear in just a click of a finger, making it harder for us to track them down,” he lamented.
He complained about fly-by-night warehouses of online products, saying scammers “are slippier than a fish.”
Photographs of popular personalities, including a well-respected doctor, are being used online in fake ads, he stressed.
Zacate called on online business operators to take down unregistered food and drug supplements on their social media platforms.
“We have the police power despite we are not armed. But we do coordinate with the National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (of the Philippine National Police), and local authorities,” he told the media.
He said the FDA is mandated to protect the buying public from fake food, cosmetics, and drug products.
Some persons of interest are being closely monitored, Zacate said.