EcoWaste Coalition Sounds Alarm: Toxic Lipsticks With Deadly Levels of Lead Still Sold in Philippine Markets

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

QUEZON CITY, Philippines — October 1, 2025. As October marks Consumer Welfare Month and the world prepares for International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week on October 19–25, an urgent cry for action reverberates across the Philippines: the EcoWaste Coalition has sounded the alarm against dangerously contaminated lipsticks still circulating in stores and online platforms, posing grave risks to consumers—particularly women and children.

The warning comes on the heels of six official advisories issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), flagging imported Qianxiu lipsticks that are being sold without authorization and without any guarantee of safety. These lipsticks, dressed up in cute pink and sleek black canisters, conceal a horrifying secret: lead levels thousands of times higher than what is legally allowed.

The Poison in a Tube of Lipstick

The FDA’s alerts covered the following unauthorized variants:

Qianxiu Hello Kitty #07 (pink canister)

Qianxiu Hello Kitty #06 (black canister)

Qianxiu Hello Kitty #03 (black canister)

Qianxiu Hello Kitty #11 (pink canister)

Qianxiu Hello Kitty #10 (pink canister)

Qianxiu Hello Kitty #02 (black canister)

Behind their playful packaging and dirt-cheap prices—₱35 each, or three for ₱100—lie staggering concentrations of lead. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) screenings conducted by EcoWaste revealed lead content as high as 43,640 parts per million (ppm). To put that in perspective, the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD) caps lead contamination in cosmetics at just 20 ppm.

Qianxiu #03 (black) — 43,640 ppm

Qianxiu #06 (black) — 31,520 ppm

Qianxiu #02 (black) — 17,690 ppm

Qianxiu #10 (pink) — 27,390 ppm

Qianxiu #07 (pink) — 13,610 ppm

Qianxiu #11 (pink) — 9,640 ppm

These findings are not mere technical violations—they are public health time bombs.

“A Well-Documented Poison”

“Consumers must not treat lipstick as harmless color on the lips,” warned Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition. “Lead is a well-documented neurological and reproductive toxicant. We urge consumers to stop using Qianxiu and other unauthorized lipsticks from dubious sources, and we call on regulators to remove these toxic products from the market immediately.”

The lipsticks, which have no Certificate of Product Notification (CPN), are being sold illegally in violation of the FDA Act of 2009 (RA 9711). Without a CPN, no assessment has been conducted on their quality or safety—placing consumers directly in harm’s way.

The Hidden Dangers of Lead

According to the report “A Poison Kiss: The Problem of Lead in Lipstick” by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, lead accumulates in the body over time. A lipstick worn daily—applied and re-applied multiple times—could silently elevate exposure levels, especially when combined with other sources of lead such as contaminated water or dust.

Medical experts agree on one chilling truth: there is no safe level of lead exposure. Even minuscule doses can impair brain development, disrupt hormones, and cause lasting harm to reproductive health.

Women exposed to lead may experience menstrual irregularities, hormonal changes, reduced fertility, and complications during pregnancy. The toxin does not stop at the mother—it crosses into the womb, threatening the health of unborn children.

Protecting Consumers: What You Can Do

To prevent and reduce lead exposure, the EcoWaste Coalition urged the public to take these life-saving precautions:

Verify before you buy: Check the FDA’s verification portal: https://verification.fda.gov.ph/Home.php

Avoid unauthorized or imitation brands—especially those without labels.

Purchase only from licensed dealers and always request an official receipt.

Beware of unbelievably low prices—if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Limit lipstick use if you are uncertain of its safety.

Keep lipsticks away from children.

Beyond Lipsticks: A Wider Battle Against Lead

The fight doesn’t end with cosmetics. This October, EcoWaste will also spotlight lead in paints and consumer goods, echoing the World Health Organization’s stance that lead is among the top 10 chemicals of major public health concern.

The battle is not simply about unsafe beauty products. It is about a system that must protect consumers—especially women and children—from toxic exposure in everyday life.

As International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week approaches, the question looms large: Will authorities finally clamp down on these poisonous products before more lives are put at risk?

DepEd’s Bold Call at First LEDAC: Feeding, Fairness, and the Future of Philippine Education

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

MANILA, 30 September 2025 — In the halls of Malacañang, where the first Council Meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) for the 20th Congress convened, the voice of education rose loud and clear. The Department of Education (DepEd), under the stewardship of Secretary Sonny Angara, delivered an urgent plea: prioritize the future of Filipino learners through expanded feeding, strengthened private education assistance, and reforms that uphold both access and accountability.

Presiding over the gathering, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. underscored the significance of education in his administration’s “Bagong Pilipinas” agenda. But it was Angara who cut to the heart of the matter: classrooms, children, and the chance for every Filipino to succeed.

“Sa Bagong Pilipinas, dapat tiyakin natin ang ating mag-aaral ay may sapat na nutrisyon, kalidad na guro, ligtas na paaralan, at pantay na oportunidad—mapa-publiko o pribado man sila nag-aaral. Ang mga panukalang ito ay konkretong hakbang upang hindi maiwan ang kahit isang mag-aaral,” Angara declared.

His words were more than rhetoric. They were a reminder that the true measure of national progress lies not only in GDP figures or infrastructure projects but in the nourishment of young minds and bodies.

A Bold Agenda for Reform

DepEd’s priority measures, endorsed to Congress, carry the weight of sweeping reforms designed to bridge gaps long left unattended. Among them:

Expanding the Feeding Program (RA 11037 amendments)

From 120 to 160 feeding days

Universal feeding for Kindergarten to Grade 3

Inclusion of marginalized groups—indigenous learners, adolescent mothers, and other vulnerable students

Milk-based substitutes for the Milk Feeding Program

Weekly micronutrient supplements for female learners

Creation of Central Kitchens in every School Division Office to ensure consistency and efficiency

This isn’t just about meals—it’s about fighting malnutrition that stunts both growth and learning.

Strengthening GASTPE (RA 8545 amendments)

Institutionalized anti-fraud mechanisms: centralized verification, audits, whistleblower protections, and inter-agency data-sharing

Expanded voucher coverage from Kindergarten to Senior High School learners

Support extended to teachers in private education

This ensures that no learner is left behind simply because they chose—or were forced into—a different educational setting.

Empowering Teachers (RA 7836 amendments)

Modernized licensure examinations

A diverse Board for Professional Teachers

Flexibility to allow non-licensed experts to teach provisionally

These changes recognize that the strength of a nation’s education lies in its teachers—those already serving and those yet to join.

Boosting Local Education Funds (Local Government Code amendments)

Increasing the Special Education Fund (SEF) levy from 1% to 2% of assessed property value

Expanding allowable uses: from special education, IP and madrasah classes, to flexible learning, school site acquisition, and classroom maintenance

By doubling local investments, education becomes not just a national mandate but a community-powered mission.

Building Classrooms, Building Futures

DepEd also threw its weight behind the Classroom Building Acceleration Bill, a measure to fast-track the construction of classrooms across the nation. By loosening red tape and encouraging broader partnerships, the bill promises to end the chronic shortages that have left students crammed into overcrowded rooms or forced to learn under makeshift structures.

Collaboration as the Key

Angara’s call was clear: DepEd cannot do this alone. Collaboration with Congress, local government units, and development partners is not optional—it is essential.

The vision is straightforward yet profound:

Nutritious meals to fuel young learners.

Fair opportunities for students in public and private schools.

Professional growth and recognition for teachers.

Strong, well-funded communities that invest in education.

These reforms, if enacted, will not just patch old cracks in the system but lay new foundations for a generation ready to take on the challenges of the 21st century.

The Stakes for Bagong Pilipinas

The urgency cannot be overstated. Malnutrition still robs children of their ability to learn. Outdated systems leave students vulnerable to fraud and inequity. Teachers, the backbone of education, struggle against rigid laws that no longer reflect modern realities.

What DepEd has placed before Congress is not just a legislative wishlist—it is a blueprint for national resilience.

In the words of Secretary Angara, it is about ensuring “na hindi maiwan ang kahit isang mag-aaral.”

If lawmakers act with the urgency the moment demands, Bagong Pilipinas will not just be a slogan—it will be a legacy written in the lives of children who were fed, educated, and empowered to dream.

The Hidden Cost of Intelligence: Unveiling the Environmental Impact of AI

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

Artificial intelligence has become the defining technology of our era—reshaping industries, accelerating creativity, and even redefining human connection. Yet as this silent revolution unfolds in our pockets, workplaces, and homes, a pressing question lingers: what is the environmental cost of intelligence?

In an age where climate change headlines dominate and every kilowatt-hour counts, the debate over AI’s ecological footprint is no longer academic—it is existential. Can humanity pursue machine intelligence without sacrificing the planet that sustains it?

The Myth vs. the Measured Reality

The internet is awash with alarming claims: that every ChatGPT query devours as much electricity as powering a lightbulb for hours, or that the carbon footprint of large-scale AI threatens to rival entire nations. The truth, however, is more nuanced—and far more hopeful.

Independent analysis by Epoch AI reveals that the average query on ChatGPT using GPT-4o consumes about 0.3 watt-hours—a tenth of the 3 watt-hour figure once rumored. To put that into perspective, it’s the energy cost of running a laptop or LED bulb for just a few minutes. Even for heavy users, the cumulative demand barely dents the electricity profile of an average household in a developed country.

This does not dismiss AI’s footprint, but it dismantles the exaggerated fears. The story is not one of unchecked waste, but of accelerating efficiency gains.

Measuring the Invisible Current

At the forefront of unraveling AI’s real environmental impact is the University of Michigan’s ML Energy Initiative. Their tool, ZeusMonitor, peers directly into the heartbeat of GPUs, capturing their real-time power draw. Coupled with their ML.Energy Leaderboard, this effort offers the clearest benchmarks yet on AI energy use.

Their findings are telling: open-source LLMs often run on far less energy per query than skeptics suggest. While models like GPT-4 remain proprietary and thus absent from these rankings, the data points toward an industry-wide shift—AI is not only getting smarter but also leaner.

What Drives the Leap in Efficiency?

Over the past decade, AI has undergone nothing short of a transformation—not just in capability, but in efficiency:

GPU breakthroughs such as Nvidia’s Hopper architecture deliver 10–15x efficiency gains over their predecessors.

Software optimization squeezes maximum performance from every chip cycle, stretching energy budgets without new silicon.

Model compression techniques like quantization and pruning slim down AI models while preserving quality, enabling more work with fewer resources.

Training orchestration tools like Perseus align thousands of GPUs in harmony, cutting wasted energy and slashing total power consumption by as much as 30%.

This convergence of hardware brilliance and software innovation is turning AI into one of the rare technologies that grows more sustainable as it scales.

OpenAI’s Stance: Responsibility as a Mission

OpenAI, steward of ChatGPT, acknowledges both the promise and the peril. While proprietary energy benchmarks for models like GPT-4 are not yet public, the company is pursuing a multi-front strategy:

Engineering efficiency into every stage of AI development, from model training to daily inference.

Partnering with researchers and policymakers to establish credible benchmarks and industry standards.

Investing in hardware and software innovations that actively reduce energy demands.

Committing to transparency and accountability, ensuring that progress in AI does not come at the expense of the environment.

For OpenAI, this is not a peripheral issue. Their mission—to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity—rings hollow without addressing the health of the planet itself.

The Bigger Picture: AI and Sustainability

AI’s environmental footprint must be placed in a broader context. Yes, training massive models demands immense computational power. But the long-term impact of AI is not just in the watts it consumes—it is in the watts it saves. From optimizing global supply chains and advancing renewable energy forecasting to revolutionizing climate science and medical research, AI’s potential to amplify sustainability efforts dwarfs its own consumption.

The challenge, then, is not whether AI should exist—it’s whether it can evolve responsibly.

A Future of Smarter, Greener Intelligence

As humanity stands at the intersection of intelligence and sustainability, the narrative is shifting. The question is no longer “Is AI too energy-hungry to sustain?” but rather “Can AI help sustain humanity while minimizing its own footprint?”

The answer lies in relentless innovation, honest measurement, and a shared commitment to planetary stewardship. AI is not destined to be the villain in the climate story—it can be the unlikely ally. But only if those building it—and those using it—choose wisely.

Because intelligence, no matter how advanced, is worthless on a dying planet.