MANILA — Senator Raffy Tulfo called on Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Ted Herbosa to fulfill his promise to remove Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Paolo Teston following the removal of several products flagged as dangerous to public health.

In his privilege speech at the Senate on December 15, Tulfo said the banned products, widely sold on online platforms such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop, were taken down within seven working days.

“There is a need to cleanse the ranks of FDA, naka ilang palit na ang head diyan, and walang nagbabago. It seems that they have not found one with a stern hand and will to actually fix the system. It should be someone who could pull out the bad weeds in FDA. Because clearly there are bad weeds: inutil, tamad o corrupt,” Tulfo said.

He added: “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 first criticized the FDA during the October 1 DOH budget hearing for allowing the continued sale of unregistered products that pose health risks. He had challenged Teston to resign if banned products remained available in the market.

During the November 26 plenary budget debates, Tulfo said the prohibited products were still being sold online and again pressed the FDA through Secretary Herbosa. Herbosa accepted Tulfo’s challenge that if the senator could get the products removed, he would personally remove Teston from his post.

“The deadline was December 9, 2025. With just 2 of my staff working, kaya po gawin ang trabaho. On November 27, we immediately sent out letters to Shopee and Lazada and on December 5, we wrote to TikTok. Everyday after that, we would message the point person asking for the status of our request. It just takes a few minutes every day to do that,” Tulfo said.

By December 9, a total of 700 products listed under the FDA’s Health Warning Advisories had been taken down—373 from Lazada, 189 from Shopee, and 138 from TikTok Shop.

Tulfo also urged Teston to resign if he still had any sense of shame left.