Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 8970)
The primary policy declared by Republic Act No. 8970 is to protect, secure, and safeguard the citizenry from the harmful effects of pollution caused by detergents containing hard surfactants by prohibiting the manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of such detergents.
Hard surfactants are defined as surfactants with low biodegradability rate including chemicals such as hard or branched alkyl benzene, hard or branched alkyl benzene surfactants, hard or branched dodecyl benzene sulfonates, branched dodecyl benzene, their sodium or potassium salts, and other technical names referring to the same chemical compound.
The law covers both laundry detergents, which are formulated to clean various fabrics in family wash, and industrial detergents, which are used mainly in manufacturing industries like beverage, textile, meat, fish and fruit canning, dairy product processing, and other food processing industries.
Labels must include: (a) name of product; (b) name or trade name and address of the producer, importer, or marketer; and (c) a statement by the manufacturer or importer that the product does not contain hard surfactants.
The manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of laundry and industrial detergents containing hard surfactants are prohibited.
The Bureau of Product Standards is tasked with reviewing and revising the Philippine National Standards and monitoring compliance by inspecting both imported and locally-manufactured detergents for hard surfactants.
Violators face administrative sanctions under Executive Order No. 913, as amended, including fines of P200,000 for the first offense, P300,000 for the second offense within one year, and P500,000 for the third offense within one year. Sanctions may also include cancellation of licenses and product quality marks.
Penalties include imprisonment of one to five years and/or fines ranging from P500,000 to P1,000,000. If the violator is a corporation, the president, manager, or responsible officer who knew or should have known of the violation may be penalized. Foreign guilty officers shall be deported after serving their sentence.
Inspections must be conducted during business hours and the inspection team must be accompanied by two responsible officers of the manufacturer. These inspections are subject to the constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure.
The Board of Investments may grant fiscal incentives to local manufacturers and processors who develop and modernize their plants to produce coconut-based and other natural oleochemical biodegradable surfactants, including assistance in exportation.