Question & AnswerQ&A (DOH DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR NO. 2008-0064)
The Supreme Court sustained all provisions of Administrative Order No. 2006-0012 under G.R. No. 173034 dated October 9, 2007, except certain sections declared null and void.
Sections declared null and void are Section 4(f) concerning advertising and promotion prohibitions; Section 11 regarding the prohibition on advertising breastmilk substitutes; and Section 46 on administrative sanctions.
Section 4(f) prohibits advertising, promotions, or sponsorships of infant formula, breastmilk substitutes, and other related products.
Section 11 banned any advertising, promotion, sponsorship, or marketing materials for breastmilk substitutes for infants and young children up to 24 months because such activities tend to undermine breastfeeding and exaggerate breastmilk substitutes. However, the Supreme Court declared this section null and void.
Section 46 prescribed sanctions including warnings for the first violation, escalating fines from P10,000 to P1,000,000 for repeated violations, recall of offending products, suspension or revocation of Certificates of Product and Licenses to Operate, and blacklisting after multiple violations.
Section 46 details escalating sanctions starting from warnings, then fines of increasing amounts, product recalls, suspension or revocation of CPR and LTO, and eventual blacklisting for repeated violations.
An additional penalty of P2,500.00 per day is imposed for every day the violation continues after receiving the order to cease.
Repeated violations are determined based on each product violation owned by a company including subsidiaries, deemed violations of the concerned milk company, not just the specific product alone.
Section 13 of Executive Order No. 51 concerning sanctions will be followed in lieu of Section 46 of the administrative sanctions.
Blacklisted companies have their offending products recalled, certificates of product canceled, licenses to operate revoked, and the company information is furnished to the Department of Budget and Management and Department of Trade and Industry for further actions.
Secretary of Health Francisco T. Duque III, MD, MSc, signed and adopted the circular on March 11, 2008.