JPE says PDU30 can ‘suspend’ FDA power if he wants

Sue me, JPE dares govt. for advocating use of Ivermectin

On Apr 19, 2021

FORMER Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and his daughter, Katrina Ponce Enrile, said they are ready to be sued by the government for advocating the use of anti-parasitic capsule, ‘Ivermectin,’ to treat Covid-19.

At the weekly, ‘Meet the Press/Report to the Nation’ media forum of the National Press Club last April 16, 2021, the 97-year Filipino statesman said government, thru the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) should not stand in the way of giving Filipinos cheaper access to “off-label” and alternative medicines to fight Covid-19 and hasten everybody’s return to normal life.

Enrile, recalling his days as a corporate lawyer representing drug companies, said the continuing effort by the FDA and the DOH to downplay medicines like Ivermectin boils down to the “question of competition” and “market share,” hinting that some of the country’s health officials are closet agents of drug makers.

Katrina, who bared she was already a 4-times victim of Covid-19, said she took the cue from her father, who had been regularly taking Ivermectin as a preventive drug or prophylaxis.

The use of Ivermectin to treat Covid-19 has pitted medical doctors against each other and the government against poor Filipinos who are crying out for cheap, alternative medicine against the virus.

She added the news, especially on social media, on Ivermectin’s efficacy against the virus also persuaded her to give it a try

Compared to her past experience in battling Covid-19, Katrina said she feels “livelier” on taking Ivermectin (Katrina is now completely healed from the virus, her social media post the following day stated).

Enrile added to override the FDA and the DOH’s stubbornness in allowing the widespread use of Ivermectin, Pres. Duterte, given the present crisis situation, can even “suspend” the FDA’s authority to approve any drug against the virus.

“Why don’t we give our people a choice,” Enrile said, noting that as a drug, Ivermectin is not only very cheap (costs less than P25 each) but also proven to be safe.

“Wala namang mangyayari (adverse effect) sa mga taong iinom ng Ivermectin.”

Asked if he would be willing to be sued by the FDA for his vocal advocacy in the use of Ivermectin, Enrile said: “They can sue me and I am willing to cross-examine them (when the time comes),” he added.