More vigilance on cigarette ads urged
September 1, 2014HealthJustice supports sustainable funding for health promotion
September 9, 2014
By Kriztja Marae G. Labrador
ABOUT 25 participants from the different Local Government Units (LGUs) in Mindanao joined the two-day workshop on tobacco control at the local level conducted by HealthJustice Philippines at Park Inn by Radisson Davao.
Irene Patricia Reyes, managing director of HealthJustice Philippines, said in an interview that the purpose of the workshop is to inform the legal officers about the existing Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2010-01 between the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Health (DOH) which states that officials and employees should take steps in preventing tobacco industry interference.
“Sa circular nayun nakalagay na dapat they shouldn’t have unnecessary interaction with the tobacco industry, they shouldn’t partner with the tobacco industry and should not accept gifts and donations. Ang purpose is to avoid conflict of interest and to implement yung ating global treaty Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,” Reyes said.
Reyes said that through the global treaty by the World Health Organization on tobacco control, the government is required to “take steps to protect public health policies from tobacco industry interference.”
She added that because of the JMC the partnership of the tobacco industries with the different government agencies had reduced and they had observed that the partnerships transferred to the LGU level.
“Meron kang makikita sa news nasi mayor (from an LGU) nag-accept nang donations from the (tobacco) industry or may binigay sila na donation for books kasi kulang din ang orientation sa mga local government level samga local groups na bawal na pala ang ganito so it’s an informative workshop na para malaman nila na bawal to and if they do it they are administratively liable,” Reyes said.
Reyes added that based on history, the tobacco industry “has been taking steps to block the public health policies of the government” and the event is a preventive measure to protect the tobacco control policies.
HealthJustice Philippines, is a non-government organization composed of doctors, lawyers, and economists that “aims to bridge the gap between health and law to empower Filipinos to make healthy choices.”
Moreover, for Davao City, Reyes said that it has one of “the best practices when it comes to tobacco control.”
“Very strict yung implementation for smoke-free and si Mayor (Rodrigo Duterte), yung political will niya talaga for pushing for tobacco control measure is very strong so it’s really an example,” Reyes said.
