FDA notes lack of pharmacists in Eastern Visayas

TACLOBAN CITY, May 25  -- The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has cited the absence of license pharmacists as one of the major problems of drugstores operating in Eastern Visayas.

FDA Deputy Director General Emilio Polig Jr said they found this problem in the region when they inspected establishments selling medicines last year.

Republic Act No. 10918, or the Philippine Pharmacy Act of 2015, states that only licensed pharmacists have the exclusive right to dispense medicines inside a licensed establishment.

“But this is not exclusive to Eastern Visayas. Other regions also have this kind of problem,” Polig revealed during a forum with law enforcers and local government officials here Thursday.

“That is why the FDA needs the assistance of local government units at the local level law enforcement because the approval of licenses and business permits is in their hands,” he said.

The FDA inspected 727 drug stores, 269 establishments selling food supplements, 34 medical device traders, and 15 cosmetic stores.

Aside from the absence of licensed pharmacists, the FDA also found that some establishments have been selling unregistered health products, do not have a license to operate, or are operating with an expired license.

FDA Director General Nela Charade Galang-Puno attributed the lack of licensed pharmacists to low salary.

“Our pharmacists have been pirated by other countries. We are trying to come up with a plan to address this problem. It is important that we develop an appropriate technology for the creation of virtual pharmacy or tele-pharmacy if a store has no pharmacist available,” Puno said.

Meanwhile, she asked policemen and local chief executives in Eastern Visayas to help them enforce consumer protection laws.

Specifically, the FDA asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to lead the enforcement of laws related to health product regulations.

Earlier, the FDA and PNP created Task Force D-PUNCH (Destroy Products Unfit for the Consumption of Humans) in an effort to reduce, if not eliminate counterfeit, unregistered, adulterated and misbranded health products.

The official also urged mayors to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws before approving licenses and permits to establishments.

“FDA is not a barrier to trade. Our mission is to ensure the quality and safety of products and at the same time that the consumers are protected,” Puno said during a meeting at Hotel Estrella here.

The FDA has been regularly sending advisories to local government units to warn people of fake products in the market.

“I am looking forward (to) more collaboration and ensure public health and public safety. It is important that we are able to explain everything so that people will be aware of the consequences if they use unsafe health products,” Puno added. (RTA/PNA)

Eastern Visayas cops, officials tapped to enforce consumer laws

TACLOBAN CITY, May 25  -- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Nela Charade Galang-Puno on Thursday asked policemen and local chief executives in Eastern Visayas to help them enforce consumer protection laws.

The FDA chief met with all provincial police directors, city police directors, chapter presidents of the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines, and representatives of city mayors in Eastern Visayas to orient them on some laws.

Specifically, the FDA asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to be the lead agency in enforcing laws related to health product regulations.

Earlier, the FDA and PNP formed Task Force D-PUNCH (Destroy Products Unfit for the Consumption of Humans) with its mission to minimize, if not eradicate counterfeit, unregistered, adulterated and misbranded health products.

The officials also urged mayors to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws before approving licensing and permits to establishments.

“FDA is not a barrier to trade. Our mission is to ensure the quality and safety of products and at the same time, that the consumers are protected,” Puno said during a meeting at Hotel Estrella here.

The FDA has been regularly sending advisories to local government units for people to be warned about distribution of fake products in the market.

“I am looking forward (to) more collaboration and ensure public health and public safety. It is important that we are able to explain everything so that people will be aware of the consequences if they use unsafe health products,” Puno added.

The FDA, created by Republic Act No. 3720, regulates drugs, medical devices, food, cosmetics and toys, and Household/Urban Hazardous substances, aiming to guarantee the safety, quality, purity, efficacy of products to protect and promote the right to health of the general public.

One of the marching orders of President Rodrigo Duterte to FDA is to go against counterfeit products that pose harm to the health and safety of users; and file economic sabotage charges against manufacturers, Puno said. (RTA/PNA)

Samar tagged as priority for climate resilient farming

TACLOBAN CITY, May 24  -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) will introduce climate resilient technologies in three Samar provinces as part of an initiative to help alleviate farmers from poverty.

This is the first time that adaptation and mitigation initiative in agriculture (AMIA) will be implemented in Eastern Visayas targeting beneficiaries of Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD), a project that provides intervention to poor farmers not covered by regular programs.

“Through AMIA, we want farmers to mainstream climate resilient measures meant to reduce losses arising from natural calamities. This is very helpful because our region is very vulnerable to weather disturbances,” said DA Eastern Visayas assistant regional director for operations Andrew Orais in an interview on Thursday.

SAAD recipients will be provided with seeds varieties and other inputs tolerant to impacts of climate change. Farmers will also be taught on proven climate resilient practices in farming, said Orais.

A major component of the AMIA project is the national color-coded farming guide map, which identifies crops that are most suitable in agriculture parcels, and overlays soil properties, elevation, rainfall pattern, temperature, and more importantly, the projected climate-induced multi-hazards.

The DA is eyeing a PHP1.37-billion outlay to assist less privileged farmers in three Samar provinces under SAAD.

From 2016 to 2017, the department has already poured in nearly PHP20 million to poor farmers not covered in regular programs of the central government. The project focuses on improving production of rice, corn, vegetables, and livestock.

The DA regional office is proposing PHP898.74-million budget for SAAD projects for 2019 to 2022. The initiative aims to alleviate 37,669 farmers from extreme poverty, said Orais.

DA aims to reduce poverty in Samar provinces by 25 percent in the next three years from 55.4 percent in Eastern Samar, 43.5 percent in Northern Samar, and 43.5 percent in Samar. (SQM/PNA)

Ormoc festival highlights bountiful pineapple harvest

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, May 24  -- The city’s prime crop -- sweet pineapples -- will take center stage in the upcoming Piña Festival on June 24, a celebration that is seen to draw thousands of spectators.

Mayor Richard Gomez said this year’s festival will be merrier with colorful and lively street dancing festival, highlighting the city’s queen pineapple, which locals claim as the sweetest in the world.

“We’re always expecting a bigger crowd. We always want to surpass the number of visitors in the past festival. We get the different groups to work together to show the best presentation,” the actor-turned-mayor said during the press briefing at the new Robinsons Place Ormoc Wednesday night.

The second Piña festival, to be joined by at least 10 contingents, is one of the highlights of the city fiesta celebration. Each contingent, composed of hundreds of dancers and performers from different high schools and colleges, will awe the crowd both in ritual showdown and street dance.

Other main events are “Parade of Lights”, Miss Ormoc 2018 beauty pageant, and some religious activities.

The “Parade of Lights” will feature a combination of luminescent vehicles and illuminated costumes in the theme of top-grossing movies, such as Avengers, Moana, Cars, etc.

The city government has set aside PHP20 million for the fiesta-related activities, seen as key to attract thousands of visitors from other areas and promote queen pineapple.

“There’s a huge demand for our juicy, crunchy, and sweet pineapple, but we can only meet the requirement of Eastern Visayas and some establishments in Cebu,” Gomez told reporters.

At least 500 hectares of local agricultural land, primarily owned by three well-known families, are devoted to pineapple. More than 100 tons of pineapple are produced every year.

In between main events are fun-filled days, such as the Ormoc Food Bazaar at the plaza area, barangay (village) day, educator’s night, religious night, market vendor’s night, civic society organizations event, government employees talent show, business night, and Balikbayan congress.

Also scheduled are sporting events at the plaza, such as basketball tournaments, laser run, boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, fun races, and the first Ormoc Dragon Boat Mayor’s Cup organized by the Philippine Canoe and Kayak Foundation.

The festive month will be capped by a concert that will feature various artists on June 29.

Ormoc City is a first-class independent component city of Leyte province with a population of 215,031, making it the second most-populous city in the province after Tacloban, the regional capital. It is the economic, cultural, commercial and transportation hub of western Leyte. (SQM/PNA)

Ormoc seeks immediate release of P2-B for water system

ORMOC CITY, Leyte, May 24  -- The city government here is hoping for the release of the PHP2-billion comprehensive master plan of Ormoc’s waterworks system by 2019 in a bid to solve the decade-old water shortage here.

Since the endorsement of the project by the Regional Development Council (RDC) in September last year, there has been no feedback from the central government on the possibility of allocating funds for the system, said Mayor Richard Gomez in an interview Wednesday night.

“We badly need this project considering that during the earthquake last year, our water system was badly damaged. With the growing population, there’s really a need for a stable water supply,” Gomez told reporters.

The actor-turned-mayor admitted that without funding support from the central government, it would be “very difficult” for the city government to improve the water system due to limited resources.

“With a PHP1.3-billion Internal Revenue Allotment share every year, we are not capable of financing this project designed for 15 years. The worst case scenario, we’ll have to do it in phases using local funds,” he added.

The city government will continue to follow up the proposed funding support, especially during budget deliberation season by mid-year.

The Ormoc waterworks system will “completely overhaul, rehabilitate and expand the existing water system of the entire city of Ormoc into one system.”

The completion of the project will shut down the existing 26 pumping stations to serve as standby water source.

“The new water system will be operating 24/7 of continuous water service without interruptions,” according to its project description submitted to RDC last year.

The present water system is run by 26 pumping stations with low overhead water reservoir, resulting to very limited water pressure, depriving many of the residents of their needed water, said the city government.

“Operating these 26 pumping stations with all the valving systems which isolate the system makes the operation and maintenance complicated, not to mention the non-availability of pump spare parts during wear and tear,” the project briefer said.

Major components of the PHP2-billion water system project include development of a new water source from Lake Danao; construction of four concrete ground reservoirs that would serve as pressure breakers and water storage; and construction of 90,000 cubic meters per day water-treatment plants.

The project will also set up intake facilities, water treatment plants/facilities, water storage tanks, transmission and distribution pipelines, service connections, fire hydrants and other appurtenances.

Lake Danao, located 2,130 feet above sea level, will be the water source. The lake, one of the water sources for Tacloban City and nearby towns, covers 148 hectares within the Lake Danao Natural Park 18 km. northeast of the city’s downtown. (SQM/PNA)