The Department of Health (DOH) is confident that the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) on the Graphic Health Warning (GHW) law would be finally out very soon to ensure smooth implementation of the law by March 3, 2016.
Health Secretary Janette Garin said at least three department members of the inter-agency panel drafting the IRR have yet to sign the final copy before it comes back to them for formal issuance.
She added that a “majority” of the department members have already signed the IRR document.
Garin said as of last week, the IRR document was on its way to the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Department of Finance (DOF).
Earlier reports said of the nine members of the GHW IRR interagency committee, five have yet to sign the IRR, namely, the DepEd, the DTI, the DOF, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Officials said the DOF and the DOJ have already affixed their signatures on the IRR document as a result of an ongoing Palace pressure to out the IRR ahead of the March 3 deadline.
Interagency committee head DOH, the National Tobacco Administration and Department of Agriculture were the first to sign the GHW IRR.
Garin said she has no doubts the IRR would be officially out very soon, but it’s taking some time because of the involvement of multiagencies tasked to draft the IRR.
She does not believe the state regulators, such as the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), would stop enforcing the GHW law even without the formal issuance of the IRR.
Garin said she and the BIR are talking to each other to avoid any more delays.
The BIR, however, said it cannot compel tobacco firms to roll out cigarette packs bearing health warnings unless the IRR on the GHW law have been approved and finalized.
The law, which requires graphic photos showing the ill effects of smoking on cigarette packages, has yet to be implemented even if the law has been enacted in July 2014. It is intended to curb smoking of Filipinos.
According to the BIR, the lack of IRR has led to a delay in enforcing Republic Act 10643.
“As of now, we cannot tell them [referring to tobacco companies] to put graphic health warnings on their products without the IRR,” Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares said.
Tobacco firms have assailed the allegation of antitobacco groups, led by New Vois Philippines, that industry players have resorted to delaying tactics to stop the enforcement of the law.
Industry observers, however, said it is the tobacco companies themselves that are pressing the government to issue the IRR with barely a month to go before the law takes full effect on March 3.
An industry insider said New Vois Philippines should understand that even if the law says that the absence of IRR would not delay the law, the regulatory agencies tasked to implement the law are the ones asking for an IRR.
“We’re not surprised that the signing of the IRR is taking too long even after it was finished in October last year. The group tasked to have it signed by member-departments is led by anti-tobacco advocates who might have figured out that sans the IRR, the tobacco industry will grind to a halt,” the industry source said.
The Philippine Tobacco Institute (PTI) earlier said the delayed issuance of the IRR could negatively impact the industry.
“If the IRR is not issued, the local industry may be prevented from producing and withdrawing finished goods to the market due to the limited time to prepare with the implementation date fixed on March 3,” PTI President Rodolfo Salanga said in the letter sent to interagency panel members.
Even without the IRR, tobacco companies are already in full swing in preparation for the March deadline.
However, local manufacturers will need permits and approvals from regulatory bodies like BIR, NTA, Customs to commence production of packs with pictorials.
For importers, they will need the permits to bring in the finished goods to the country and for its subsequent clearance from Customs. Sadly, all these government agencies would not issue the permits and approvals without the IRR.