Section 11August 18, 2009, Sec./Art. 11

Section 12, subsection (a) of Republic Act No, 3720, as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"SEC.

12. (a) Any person who violates any of the provisions of Section eleven hereof shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment ranging from one (1) year but not more than ten (10) years or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That if the offender is a manufacturer, importer or distributor of any health product, the penalty of at least five (5) years imprisonment but not more than ten (10) years and a fine of at least Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than Five million pesos (P5,000,000.00) shall be imposed Provided, further, That an additional fine of one percent (1%) of the economic value/cost of the violative product or violation, or One thousand pesos (P1,000.00), whichever is higher, shall be imposed for each day of continuing violation: Provided, finally, That health products found in violation of the provisions of this Act and other relevant laws, rules and regulations may be seized and held in custody pending proceedings, without hearing or court order, when the director-general has reasonable cause to believe from facts found by him/her or an authorized officer or employee of the FDA that such health products may cause injury or prejudice to the consuming public.

"x x x

"Should the offense be committed by a juridical person, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the president, general manager, or the partners and/or the persons directly responsible therefore shall he penalized.

"Should the offense be committed by a foreign national, he/she shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed, be deported without further proceedings after service of sentence.

"x x x."