In January, a 39-year-old woman died in suburban Quezon City hours after receiving an intravenous [IV] injection of glutathione and stem cells, health reform advocate Dr Tony Leachon, a former president of the Philippine College of Physicians, reminded users on X. The health department is still investigating the cause of her death.
At the time, Philippine Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa warned that the treatment “will whiten your skin and make you look really Caucasian, but it can damage your kidneys and kill you”.
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How ‘whitening’ creams can damage your skin, and what to use instead
“Sadly, we see a proliferation of establishments offering this service – most not even manned by [licensed] physicians,” Dr Maria Angela Lavadia, past president of the Philippine Dermatological Society, told This Week in Asia.
Neither glutathione nor vitamin C has been approved by the Philippines’ Food and Drug Administration for skin lightening, Lavadia noted, citing insufficient “evidence-based data and long-term results for this indication”.
Leachon told This Week in Asia that injectable glutathione had been approved “as an adjunct treatment” for cancer therapy, but warned that “no safe level has been set” for any off-label use outside cancer treatment.
He added that he thought it was “wrong to promote off-label products” on social media and said the Senate was “not the proper venue to do such irresponsible acts”.
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Padilla, who is a heavy endorser of health and beauty products that she also sells on live streams, said in her Instagram post that she was receiving the treatment in her husband’s office because she was at the Senate to personally root for the passage of a law to protect workers in the entertainment industry.
Her husband Robin – who with over 26 million votes, received more than other candidate in the 2022 Senate election – initially chided critics of his wife’s viral post, writing in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper: “I’m really laughing over this”.
“This political issue is funny, my goodness, if they saw anything bad in the photo, my apologies,” he said. “My wife loves to promote good looks and good health.”
The promotion and sale of unregistered health products in the Philippines is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to 10 million pesos (US$178,000).
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But health chief Herbosa told the Philippine Star newspaper over the weekend that Padilla was not liable for prosecution.
“It’s more an ethical issue. [It] means a doctor prescribed [to her] a drug as ‘off label’ use,” he said, adding that she could even sue the doctor if she was harmed.
Nancy Binay, chairwoman of the Senate ethics committee, said on Friday last week that her committee would “need to closely look into” the matter “because it involves issues of conduct, integrity, and reputation of the institution, and matters that concern health and safety”.
Public officials in the Philippines are barred from using their public office for private gain under ethical standards and a code of conduct established by Republic Act 6713.
Let us think that being a celebrity has its consequences, especially if your spouse is a senator
“As public figures, we should be aware of our responsibilities to the public,” Binay said. “We might be promoting something that is banned and illegal, and people might think that it’s OK. Let us think that being a celebrity has its consequences, especially if your spouse is a senator.”
This is not the first time that Senator Padilla, who likes to be referred to as “Robinhood” since cultivating an image as a bad boy with a heart of gold through his film roles, has had a brush with scandal.
The actor-turned-senator was also scolded by a colleague last year for combing his moustache during a Senate hearing, with Padilla shooting back that there were no rules barring him from preening himself in the chamber.
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In Philippine election, a reel thin line between actors and politicians
Both Padillas were more contrite on Monday, however, with the senator releasing a statement expressing his “sincere apologies” for the IV incident, while his wife posted on Instagram that “it was never my intention to malign nor undermine the integrity and dignity of the Senate. I want to extend my sincerest apologies to all concerned.”
Mariel Padilla later told local media that the IV drip she had in her husband’s office was filled with a vitamin C infusion and did not contain glutathione.