DSWD can accept donations from tobacco industry —DOJ

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) may accept donations from individuals or businesses related to the tobacco industry, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday.

In a six-page legal opinion, the DOJ found that the acceptance of donations from the tobacco industry will not violate the Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2010-01 of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Department of Health (DOH).

Under JMC 2010-01, public officials and employees are prohibited from soliciting or accepting, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan, or anything of monetary value in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office from any person or business related to the tobacco industry.

“[E]xisting national laws regarding the regulation of tobacco in the country do not explicitly restrict donations made by persons or businesses involved in the tobacco industry to government agencies,” the DOJ said.

“[T]his Department respectfully submits that the intended acceptance by DSWD of donations from persons or businesses related with the tobacco industry does not violate Section 3.3 or JMC No. 2010-01,” it also said.

The DOJ issued the legal opinion after DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian sought its legal opinion on the legality of accepting donation from a tobacco company of three mobile clinics for the use of social welfare and disaster response operations amid the prohibition under JMC 2010-01.

In its legal opinion, the DOJ said that the prohibition under JMC 2010-01 can also be found in Section 7(d) of Republic Act (RA) 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

However, it said that both the JMC 2010-01 and RA 6713 only prohibits the receipt or solicitation of public officials and employees in the course of their official functions and it does not prohibit the government agency or office itself.

Aside from this, the DOJ said that JMC 2010-01 also penalizes the employee and not the agency.

“As a rule, the government is generally allowed to receive donations from foreign governments or private persons, subject to certain provisions as to its use and execution,” the DOJ said.

“Given that the prohibition under JMC No. 2010-01 only expressly covers public officials and employees, the same cannot be interpreted to broadly extend to the national government, local government, and other government agencies, subdivisions, and offices,” it added.

Despite this, the DOJ advised the DSWD to address the matter internally in light of its Administrative Order No. 11, which states that the “Department and its personnel” shall not accept gifts from any person or business related to the tobacco industry.

“From the afore-quoted provision, the prohibition is no longer just applicable to the employees and personnel of DSWD, but to DSWD itself,” the DOJ said.

The Justice Department also advised the DSWD to reach out to the DOH and the CSC as the lead implementing agencies of the JMC 2010-01. —KBK, GMA Integrated News