Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 3740)
The main purpose of Act No. 3740 is to penalize fraudulent advertising, mislabeling, or misbranding of any product, stocks, bonds, and similar items to protect consumers and ensure truthful representation.
It is unlawful to sell, barter, exchange, or offer any article falsely labeled, marked, or branded, or labeled in a way to misrepresent its character, value, properties, or materials; or to use false advertising related to such products within or across the Philippine Islands.
Yes, Section 2 makes it unlawful to insert or cause to be inserted in any newspaper, book, or periodical in the Philippines any advertising that misrepresents the character, value, properties, or condition of the article advertised.
Yes, Section 3 explicitly prohibits misrepresenting the character, value, properties, or condition of any article in any form of advertising such as handbills, billboards, signs, pamphlets, circulars, and projected lantern slides.
Yes, Section 4 prohibits misrepresenting the character or value of stocks, bonds, shares, or the properties or prospects of any firm or corporation in any form of advertising.
Yes, Section 5 prohibits using the mails of the Philippines for circulating any advertising matter prohibited by the Act, but it excludes standard books, magazines, or periodicals published abroad unless they advertise the seller's own merchandise or securities.
Under Section 6, violators may be fined up to five thousand pesos, imprisoned for up to six months, or both, at the discretion of the court.
Yes, the law applies to any person, firm, or corporation, whether as principal or agent, involved in the prohibited acts.
According to Section 7, the Act took effect six months after its approval on November 22, 1930.
Yes, Section 1 includes articles whose containers are mislabeled or misbranded in a way that misrepresents the character, value, properties, or condition of the contained article or its materials.