Senator Hontiveros: Vape safeguards ‘not enough,’ cites online loopholes

Senator Risa Hontiveros said existing safeguards on vape use remain insufficient, particularly in protecting minors from accessing products online, as the Senate Committee on Health and Demography tackled proposed amendments to vape regulations.

During the May 6 hearing on Senate Bill 21 or the proposed “Vapes and HTPs Regulation Act,” Hontiveros raised concerns over what she described as gaps in online enforcement and weak youth protection measures.

“Hindi sapat ang safeguards,” Hontiveros said. “May butas ang regulasyon lalo na online. At dapat public health ang sentro ng polisiya.”

“Online, isang click lang—‘I am 18’—at may delivery na o sa isang ‘PM’  lang, makakaiskor na agad sa sellers na nasa iba’t ibang social media platform. Walang totoong age verification, walang accountability,” she added. “Malinaw, hindi na ito simpleng implementation gap. Ito ay malinaw na disconnect sa pagitan ng policy design at ng lived reality.”

Representatives from online platforms told the panel they had existing safeguards against the sale of vape, tobacco, and nicotine products to minors. However, the Department of Health (DOH) said its team was still able to purchase vape products online using a fake account shortly before the hearing.

“Tinry po ng team namin, just this morning 30 minutes before the Senate hearing, to make a fake account, yung self-declared lang po ang age verification niya. And we were able to place po, place a purchase for vapes. 

"So nakikita rin po natin when they said na meron po tayong mga keywords na ginagamit. We didn’t use vape po na characters na v a p e. We used the characters v space p e. So nakalusot po siya,” said Dr. Dominic Maddumba, officer-in-charge director III of the DOH Health Promotion Bureau.

Maddumba said current online restrictions were failing to keep pace with sellers, prompting the DOH to consider stricter measures, including a total ban.

“Even though there are regulations and restrictions on online sale, if it is not, hindi po nakakasabay, hindi nakakasabay sa pace natin, I think the most logical thing to do to simplify the enforcement and the regulation to total banning it,” he added.

The DOH official also noted that eight member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have already banned vape products. According to him, only the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia still allow vape use, although Malaysia is moving toward a ban this 2026.

Maddumba further pointed to what he described as loopholes in Republic Act 11900 or the “Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act,” particularly on tobacco advertising and the definition of “point of sale.”

“Another vagueness of RA 11900 would be the definition of the point of sale. Dahil minsan ang intention po talaga noong dapat sa point of sale lang doon sa loob sana noong establishment. Ngunit ang sinasabi po nila na pati yung facade nila ay kasama ng point of sale, puwede po silang maglagay doon ng advertisement natin na puwede pong lumaki, puwede pong makita ng mga kabataan natin,” Maddumba explained.

“Kung hindi po tayo magto-total ban, we restrict it just to plain tobacco flavor so that we wouldn’t entice our kids,” he added. The DOH and the Food and Drug Administration are also pushing to return vape regulation powers to the FDA.

Meanwhile, Health Justice Philippines said it had filed complaints before the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) over alleged violations committed even by accredited vape companies.

DTI Division Chief Frediswenda Beñas said the agency had filed 418 charges and issued preliminary preventive orders against 41 manufacturers, retailers, and importers.

On the other hand, the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association (PECIA) cautioned against stricter flavor restrictions, arguing these could push consumers toward illegal sellers instead.

“Yun bang tanggalin natin ang flavor or gawin nating 25 years ang legal age to buy vapes. Puwede po nating gawin yun. Pero ang mada-drive lang po natin mostly, pag ginawa nating tobacco flavor lang eh sa illicit market sangkatutak po na flavors. Baka po yung intention po ng ginagawa natin at mga ipinapasok sana natin na amendments o ano sa batas baka hindi po maganda ang maging result. Baka po mapunta lang tayo sa illicit market,” said Joey Dulay.

The Senate committee is set to convene a technical working group to finalize its report on the proposed measure.