Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 174)
Executive Order No. 174, May 22, 1987, is based on the amendment of Republic Act No. 5921 to strengthen the regulation of drugs and pharmaceutical practice in line with the State policies on health as stated in Article II Section 15 and Article XIII Section 12 of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines.
The manufacturer, or in the absence of the manufacturer, the importer, distributor, representative, or dealer responsible for the distribution or sale is liable for the safety, efficacy, quality, and purity of drugs sold in their original seal-intact packaging.
Any violator can be fined not less than one thousand pesos but not exceeding four thousand pesos or imprisoned for not less than six months and one day but not more than four years, at the court's discretion.
Violations include infringing provisions in Sections 12, 24, 25, 26, and 27; making false representations to procure pharmacist registration; allowing unregistered persons to practice pharmacy; falsely displaying pharmacist certificates; or acting as a dummy for an alien or unqualified person to open or operate a retail drugstore.
Drugs are defined as articles recognized in official pharmacopeias, articles intended for diagnosis, cure, treatment, prevention of disease in humans or animals, articles (other than food) affecting body structure or function, or components of any of these, excluding devices or their parts or accessories.
The policies include the State's duty to protect and promote the right to health (Article II Section 15) and to establish an effective food and drug regulatory system and health manpower development responsive to national health needs (Article XIII Section 12).
It took effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
All inconsistent laws, orders, issuances, rules, regulations, or parts thereof are repealed or modified accordingly to conform to this Executive Order.
It was signed by President Corazon C. Aquino and Executive Secretary Joker P. Arroyo.
No, the liability rests upon the manufacturer or their substitutes like the importer, distributor, representative, or dealer responsible for distribution or sale if the original seal has not been broken or tampered with.