Under Republic Act 9711 (2009), a drug must be registered with FDA Philippines, which issues a Certificate of Product Registration, before it is manufactured, imported, sold or distributed. An unregistered drug product is one without that certificate, and selling one is a prohibited act. Anyone can check a product on the FDA verification portal. Sources checked 23 September 2026.
Legal
How FDA Philippines registration works, and what not registered means
What the Food and Drug Administration Act requires before a drug can be imported or sold in the Philippines, what the certificate is called, and how to check a product yourself.
Video transcript
Checking if a medicine is FDA registered, or bringing one into the Philippines? Here are the rules, checked in September 2026. FDA Philippines points you to its verification portal. A registered drug shows a Certificate of Product Registration number and its classification. No certificate means unregistered. Importing or selling an unregistered drug is a prohibited act, and the FDA may seize violative products without a court order. A prescription medicine is dispensed only by a licensed pharmacist, at an FDA-licensed outlet, against a valid prescription, including online orders. Bringing medicines in falls under Joint Circular No. 1 of 2015: passenger baggage, balikbayan boxes and parcels. Prescription drugs: up to the quantity on a prescription with the doctor's PRC licence number. Over-the-counter drugs: 50 grams. Vitamins and supplements: 500 grams in total. Above the limits, without FDA clearance, goods are seized and forfeited, declared or not. Every arriving bag is subject to search. Recent advisories: on 4 September 2026, numbers 2026-1019 and 2026-1020 warned against unregistered tirzepatide vials, and 2026-1013 against a KPV vial. Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus and Mounjaro are registered prescription drugs. Prescribing belongs with a licensed Philippine physician. A research vial is not a registered medicine. Buying from stock already in the Philippines skips customs. Our partner and supplier, Primara Labs, holds stock in Metro Manila. Its vials are for research use only, not approved for human use. Metro Manila orders by noon on a weekday arrive the same day. J&T reaches Luzon in 1 to 2 business days, Visayas 2 to 3, Mindanao 3 to 5. Plus a 60-day money-back guarantee. Read the full rules on Philippines Peptides, then see the catalogue at Primara Labs and order on WhatsApp.
Short answer
What the law requires
- Republic Act No. 9711, the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009, renamed the Bureau of Food and Drugs as the Food and Drug Administration and amended parts of RA 3720. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- RA 9711 defines registration as FDA approval of a health product that must happen before the product is manufactured, imported, exported, sold or distributed. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- RA 9711 defines a drug to include articles, other than food, intended to affect the structure or a function of the human or animal body, not only products that treat disease. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- Section 21(a) of RA 3720 bars the manufacture, sale or transfer of any new drug unless an application for it is in effect with the FDA. (RA 3720, 22 June 1963)
- DOH Administrative Order No. 2024-0013, dated 20 September 2024, sets the current general rules for registering pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients for human use. (DOH AO No. 2024-0013, 20 September 2024)
- AO 2024-0013 defines the Certificate of Product Registration (CPR) as the certificate the FDA issues for a pharmaceutical product or active ingredient that has met the requirements for authorization. (DOH AO No. 2024-0013, 20 September 2024)
- AO 2024-0013 states that it also covers active pharmaceutical ingredients for human use that are intended for distribution and sale. (DOH AO No. 2024-0013, 20 September 2024)
What "unregistered" means
- Section 11(a) of RA 3720 as amended by RA 9711 prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution, promotion or advertising of any health product that is unregistered, adulterated or misbranded. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- Section 11(k) of RA 3720 as amended by RA 9711 prohibits manufacturing, importing, distributing, selling or retailing any drug without a License to Operate from the FDA. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
Penalties
- Under Section 12(a) of RA 3720 as amended by RA 9711, a person convicted of a prohibited act faces 1 to 10 years of imprisonment or a fine of PHP 50,000 to PHP 500,000, or both. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- Under the same section, a convicted manufacturer, importer or distributor faces at least 5 and up to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of PHP 500,000 to PHP 5,000,000. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- RA 9711 provides that a foreign national convicted of a prohibited act is deported after serving the sentence, in addition to the other penalties. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
- RA 9711 allows the FDA to seize and hold violative health products pending proceedings, without a hearing or court order, when the Director-General has reasonable cause to believe they may cause injury. (RA 9711, 18 August 2009)
How to check a product
- The FDA directs the public to its Verification Portal at verification.fda.gov.ph to check whether a product is registered. (FDA Advisory No. 2026-0814, 30 July 2026)
Registration numbers for Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus and Mounjaro, read from the portal, are on each drug's page in the GLP-1 price tracker, and the status of research compounds is on the status page.
The regulation hub
- Are peptides legal in the Philippines?
- Prescription rules for GLP-1 medicines
- Bringing medicines or peptides into the Philippines
- Is selling peptides legal in the Philippines?
- FDA Philippines advisories on GLP-1s and peptides: timeline
- Regulatory status by compound
Sources checked 23 September 2026. Primary sources only: statutes, DOH and FDA Philippines issuances, the FDA verification portal and the Bureau of Customs. This is general information, not legal advice.