HealthJustice on Thursday urged the government to protect health policies from tobacco industry interference after the Philippines failed to advance public health interest during the global summit on tobacco control held in Panama.

“Hindi ko nilalahat Senior Deputy Executive Secretary [Hubert Guevarra], but may mga kasama din kasi kayo talaga sa COP na (I am not saying you’re all like that but, there are) known advocates of the tobacco industry. Siyempre (Of course), if it walks like a duck, smells like a duck, quacks like a duck, it is a duck”, said Senator Alan Peter Cayetano during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the Philippine delegation’s Dirty Ashtray award on 21 February 2024.

The statement of Senator Cayetano was in response to government representatives showcasing the watered-down Vape Regulation Law as a landmark legislation and insisting on a “balanced approach” to tackle tobacco control at the Tenth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP10).

The receipt of the Philippines’ 5th Dirty Ashtray award during the COP10 in Panama City prompted the Senate to conduct the inquiry.

The award was given to the Philippines after blocking consensus, together with a small group of countries, for the establishment of an Expert Group that will be tasked to facilitate the implementation of Articles 9 and 10 of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).

It was not the first time the Philippines received the notorious award that is being given by the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control (GATC) to call out countries influenced by lobbying from the tobacco industry.

The first Dirty Ashtray award conferred on the Philippines in COP4 in 2010 was due to the Philippine delegation’s opposition on the draft guidelines regulating the contents of tobacco products and requiring disclosure of tobacco products contents.

This was followed by three Dirty Ashtray awards in COP9 in 2021 for attempting to block progress discussions in the eleventh hour.

“We commend the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee for exercising its oversight powers to promote public health, and express solidarity with it in promoting the health of Filipinos and of other nations in ending the scourge of tobacco,” Ralph Degollacion, Managing Ditector of HealthJustice said.

“It is well within the purview of the Committee to review the conduct of public officials in enforcing, upholding and protecting our laws, in this instance, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which the Senate ratified in 2005,” Degollacion added.

He stressed that the position of the Philippines “betrays the duty to work with other countries to end the tobacco epidemic and protect our health policies from tobacco industry interference.”

“Wittingly or unwittingly, the Philippines played into the agenda of the tobacco industry in blocking the discussions on guidelines on the disclosure of contents and emissions of tobacco products,” he said.

“The delay in the consensus on these guidelines seriously puts at risk the health, not only of Filipinos, but of other nations battling the scourge of tobacco,” he added.

The FCTC requires, among others, State parties to "protect their public health policies related to tobacco control from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry."

At the Blue Ribbon Committee's probe, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano further brought to light the Philippine delegates' regulatory capture by the tobacco industry.

The hearing was led by Senator Pia Cayetano, the chairperson of the committee.

"The reality is, you either go in, let the experts know, if you are for or against, and the reality is, at this point in time, both in the law and the representations made, is [we are] pro-tobacco. I'm not accusing one person here,” Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said.

“I'm accusing the whole government, including the past Congress, and hopefully we change that. If we follow the treaty, and follow the Constitution, we should amend this [Vape Regulation] law instead of pointing it out," Cayetano added.

The Philippine delegation to COP10 was led by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevarra from the Office of the President, House Representative Rodante Marcoleta, and more than 30 other government officials, the largest among State Parties. Representative Marcoleta was one of the most ardent proponents of the Vape Regulation Law during the previous Congress.

Proponents of the Vape Regulation Law claimed during the congressional deliberations that it will protect the youth from the harms of vape products.

HealthJustice also expressed dismay that the Philippine delegation failed to heed the call of the former senior officials of the Health and Education Departments urging them to tell the truth on the effect of the Vape Regulation Law.

The call of the former senior officials was made in response to the growing vape use among the youth in the country.

Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Guevara, however, touted the Vape Regulation Law as a measure that in fact safeguards minors from the dangers of vapes.

In its position paper submitted to the Blue Ribbon Committee, HealthJustice recommended adopting remedial measures to protect the country’s public health policies from tobacco industry interference.

HealthJustice pushed for the designation of the DOH as the head of the Philippine delegation in future COP sessions, and the exclusion from the delegation those who further the interest of the tobacco industry.