Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 174)
Executive Order No. 174 further amends Republic Act No. 5921, also known as the Pharmacy Law.
The amendments cite Article II Section 15, which mandates the State to protect and promote the right to health and instill health consciousness, and Article XIII Section 12, which mandates the State to establish effective food and drug regulation and health manpower development.
The liability rests upon the manufacturer or, in their absence, upon the importer, distributor, representative, or dealer responsible for distribution or sale.
Persons violating specified provisions or involved in false representation for pharmacist registration, allowing unregistered pharmacists to practice, or falsely displaying registration certificates face fines from PHP 1,000 to PHP 4,000 or imprisonment from six months and one day to four years, at the court's discretion.
'Drugs' include articles recognized in official pharmacopoeias like the USP-NF, articles intended for diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans or animals, articles meant to affect body structure or function (excluding food), and articles used as components of the specified articles, excluding devices or their parts.
Devices or their components, parts, or accessories are excluded from the definition of 'drugs.'
A pharmacist is a person who holds a certificate of registration and is legally authorized to practice pharmacy in the Philippines.
Falsely displaying a pharmacist's registration certificate who is not regularly employed or acting as a dummy for unqualified persons is a punishable offense with possible fines and imprisonment.
The Executive Order takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
All laws, orders, issuances, rules, and regulations inconsistent with this Executive Order are repealed or modified accordingly.