Tulfo Urges Removal of FDA Chief Paolo Teston

Senator Raffy Tulfo has called on Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa to honor his earlier commitment to remove Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Paolo Teston following the takedown of health products flagged as dangerous by the agency.

In his privilege speech at the Senate on December 15, Tulfo said he fulfilled his part of the challenge issued during the DOH budget deliberations by ensuring the removal of FDA-flagged products from major online selling platforms within seven working days. The products had been previously identified by the FDA through its Public Health Warning Advisories as potentially harmful to consumers.

Tulfo said that within the agreed period, his office successfully facilitated the takedown of 700 product listings as of December 9. These included 373 listings from Lazada, 189 from Shopee, and 138 from TikTok Shop.

The senator first raised the issue during the DOH budget hearing on October 1, 2025, where he questioned why the FDA continued issuing health advisories despite the continued online sale of unregistered and dangerous health products. He also challenged Teston to step down if the problem could not be addressed.

During the plenary budget debates on November 26, the issue remained unresolved. At that point, Herbosa accepted Tulfo’s challenge, stating that if Tulfo could have the flagged products removed from online platforms within seven working days, he would personally remove Teston from his post, citing apparent failure to perform his duties.

Tulfo said his Senate team acted immediately after the challenge was made, resulting in the swift takedown of the flagged products across multiple platforms.

“Again, we spend so much money on health to address the medical concerns of our people, I hope the government will not be the reason why people get sick. DOH Secretary Herbosa, make true your word, for the sake of the health of the Filipino People, demand the resignation of FDA Director-General Paolo Teston," Tulfo said.

As of this writing, the DOH has yet to issue a response on whether it will act on the senator’s call.