The Philippine Tobacco Institute sued for declaratory relief, seeking to set aside the "Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act No. 9711" (otherwise known as the "Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009") seeking to prohibit the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines from implementing the IRR "insofar as it relates to the regulation of Tobacco Products."
Petitioners argued that the new law would cause "grave and irreparable injury" if the IRR went into effect, because it "invalidly expands and modifies the Food and Drug Administration Act as well as the Tobacco Regulation Act by placing the regulation and supervision of tobacco products under the FDA. The Tobacco Institute further argued that it would "be exposed to an invalid and baseless regulation by government agencies, particularly the DOH and the FDA, which were deprived of any authority and jurisdiction over tobacco products and will consequently entail additional regulatory costs that are neither contemplated under the Food and Drug Administration Act nor the Tobacco Regulation Act." They also argued that it would be exposed to hefty administrative penalties for possible violations of the IRR even though FDA has no jurisdiction over tobacco products.
In rejecting Petitioners' application for a Writ of Preliminary Injunction, the Court found that the Tobacco Institute "failed to establish an existing right that was violated" and that any "alleged damage or injury the subject IRR would cause is merely speculative and prospective in nature." Because there was no definite or immediate harm to rectify, the Court stated that the law would be presumed constitutional until "otherwise declared by judicial interpretation."
Philippine Tobacco Institute, Inc. v. Dept't of Health, SCA No. 11-0013, Philippines Regional Trial Court Branch 225 Las Pinas City (2011).
Philippines
Sep 28, 2011
Republic of the Philippines National Capital Judicial Region Regional Trial Court Branch 255 Pinas City
Tobacco companies or front groups may challenge any legislative or regulatory measure that affects their business interests. Unlike public interest litigation, these cases seek to weaken health measures. These cases frequently involve the industry proceeding against the government. For example, a group of restaurant owners challenging a smoke free law as unconstitutional.
Subsequent regulations exceed the scope of the originating law.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
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"In the case before us, petitioner anchors the instant petition on the fact that it will suffer grave and irreparable injury should the enforcement of the subject IRR be allowed to proceed. According to the petitioner, the subject IRR violates two laws, namely, the Food and Drug Administration Act, as it invalidly expands and modifies the Food and Drug Administration Act as well as the Tobacco Regulation Act by placing the regulation and supervision of tobacco products under the FDA. Hence, according to the petitioner, it will be exposed to an invalid and baseless regulation by government agencies, particularly the DOH and the FDA, which were deprived of any authority and jurisdiction over tobacco products and will consequently entail additional regulatory costs that are neither contemplated under the Food and Drug Administration Act nor the Tobacco Regulation Act. [...]The foregoing allegations fail to establish an actual existing right on the part of the petitioner that was violated and the alleged damage or injury the subject IRR would cause is merely speculative and prospective in nature. Likewise, there is no clear showing that the subject IRR would cause irreparable injury."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
The Philippine Tobacco Institute sued for declaratory relief, seeking to set aside the "Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act No. 9711" (otherwise known as the "Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009") seeking to prohibit the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines from implementing the IRR "insofar as it relates to the regulation of Tobacco Products."
Petitioners argued that the new law would cause "grave and irreparable injury" if the IRR went into effect, because it "invalidly expands and modifies the Food and Drug Administration Act as well as the Tobacco Regulation Act by placing the regulation and supervision of tobacco products under the FDA. The Tobacco Institute further argued that it would "be exposed to an invalid and baseless regulation by government agencies, particularly the DOH and the FDA, which were deprived of any authority and jurisdiction over tobacco products and will consequently entail additional regulatory costs that are neither contemplated under the Food and Drug Administration Act nor the Tobacco Regulation Act." They also argued that it would be exposed to hefty administrative penalties for possible violations of the IRR even though FDA has no jurisdiction over tobacco products.
In rejecting Petitioners' application for a Writ of Preliminary Injunction, the Court found that the Tobacco Institute "failed to establish an existing right that was violated" and that any "alleged damage or injury the subject IRR would cause is merely speculative and prospective in nature." Because there was no definite or immediate harm to rectify, the Court stated that the law would be presumed constitutional until "otherwise declared by judicial interpretation."