The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it is committed to work closely with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Health (DOH) to ensure consistency in interpreting existing policies and regulations pertaining to donations from individuals or businesses related to the tobacco industry.
Asst. Secretary Irene Dumlao, who is also the DSWD spokesperson, said the legal opinion issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) should not be interpreted as promotion of tobacco consumption.
“The DOJ opinion should not be viewed as a promotion for tobacco consumption. We are committed to adhere to the provisions of the CSC-DOH Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) and in our international commitments to the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC),” Dumlao said.
The WHO FCTC is the first international treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization. It was adopted by the World Health Assembly on May 21, 2003 and entered into force on February 27, 2005.
The DOJ legal opinion clarified that accepting donations from persons or businesses related to the tobacco industry does not violate the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2010-01 of the CSC and DOH as it only prohibits government officials and employees from accepting donations, and not the government agency as a whole.
