CARAGA REGION – Joint elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Surigao del Norte, Food and Drugs Aministration (FDA and Caraga and Surigao Police Stations, arrested a Comelec director for allegedly selling illegal drug known as Lian Hua Capsule.
Caraga Comelec Regional Director Francisco Pobe
The raiding team arrested Francisco Pobe, Caraga Comelec regional director in Rizal Street, Barangay Washington around 11am in the morning yesterday.
The arresting team also recovered five boxes of the reported illegal drug inside the house of the suspect, with an estimated value of P100,000.
According to FDA Regulation Officer III Perla Alviso, Dir Pobe is illegally selling the capsule without pertinent documents coming from FDA, which is a violation of RA 9711, otherwise known as Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009.
Based on recent FDA advisory No. 2021-0723, selling and buying of Lianhua Qingwen Jianong with Chinese characters is prohibited by law since these are not registered.
FDA also clarified that only those Lianhua Qingwen Jiaonang with English characters were issued Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) by the Food and Drug Administration and they have FDA approved license to sell said products in the country.
Investigation is now ongoing and if proven guilty of the offense committed, the regional director will face imprisonment as provided for by Philippine laws.
