(Eagle News)–Senator Richard Gordon on Saturday said the “syndicate” behind the proliferation of fake medicines in the market should be “unmasked and be held accountable.”
Gordon made the statement days after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the arrest of peddlers of the counterfeit substances and the filing of charges against them.
He issued the order after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an advisory against fake paracetamol being sold in the market.
According to Gordon, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, an investigation his panel conducted found that fake drugs were among those being smuggled into the country, a crime he said was tantamount to economic sabotage that “rob(s) the government of billions in duties and taxes.”
“It is high time that that we drain the cesspool in the Bureau of Customs,” Gordon said.
“Sick people take medicines to get well or to control their illness which is why medicines should be properly administered. How will a sick person get well if he were to take fake medicines that could bring more harm than good?” Gordon asked.