Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero is pushing a measure to redistribute several regulatory functions of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to other government agencies, aiming to make approval processes more efficient and ease business compliance. Escudero argues that the FDA's mandate is too broad, causing overlaps and delays, and calls for reassigning powers to specialized departments for more timely and effective regulation.
Proposed redistribution of FDA functions
Under Escudero's proposal, key FDA responsibilities would be absorbed by appropriate agencies. Fresh food regulation would go to the Department of Agriculture (DA), processed food and cosmetics to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and medicines to the Department of Health (DOH). "Kung pagkain, sa DA. Kung processed food o cosmetics, sa DTI natin ilagay. Kung gamot naman, sa DOH. Hindi dapat lahat nasa FDA," Escudero said in Filipino.
The senator emphasized that the redistribution would streamline government functions and reduce overlapping mandates. "Ang FDA ay naging catch all agency sa mahabang panahon. I think, it is about time that we fix this and move some of its functions to the right departments or offices," he stated.
Ensuring consumer protection while easing compliance
Escudero stressed that his bill seeks to ease compliance for businesses while maintaining consumer protection. "Hindi natin tinatanggal ang regulasyon. Ang ginagawa natin ay inililipat sa mas angkop na ahensya," he explained. Past efforts have already transferred some FDA functions through memoranda of agreement, such as moving agricultural product regulation to the DA. Escudero's bill aims to institutionalize these changes through legislation.
The FDA has faced criticism from industry groups and oversight agencies over delays in processing applications, particularly for emergency medicines. The Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) reported that the FDA received a high number of complaints among government agencies, citing bottlenecks in its evaluation process. Business groups have highlighted prolonged product registration timelines and complex regulatory requirements as barriers to market entry.
International precedents
Several countries operate without a single, catch-all FDA-type regulator. In Singapore, food oversight is handled by the Singapore Food Agency, while medicines and cosmetics fall under the Health Sciences Authority. The United Kingdom splits responsibilities among the Food Standards Agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for medicines, and the Department for Business and Trade for cosmetics.
