WHEREAS,   Section   77  of  Republic   Act  No.  9165  or  the  Comprehensive Dangerous  Drugs  Act of 2002   (the œAct ) provides  that the Dangerous  Drugs Board (the œBoard ) shall be the policy making and strategy formulating body in the planning and formulation of policies and programs on drug prevention and control;

WHEREAS,  Section  81  (b)  of  the  Act  vests  upon  the  Board  the  power  to promulgate rules as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the law;

WHEREAS, Section 93 of the Act empowers the Board to reclassify, add to or remove substances from the list of Dangerous Drugs;

WHEREAS,   Board Regulation No. 1, series of 2014 (the œRegulation ) provides that the Board may convene a Technical Working Group (the œTWG ) which shall gather and collate all data relative to public hearings that may be conducted for reclassification,  addition  or  removal  of  substances  from  the  list  of  dangerous drugs;

WHEREAS, under the identified new set of priorities of the Board, there is a need to further intensify, prioritize, and enhance the functions/effectivity  of the TWG to address present day demands and concerns;

WHEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, as it is hereby RESOLVED:

1. That Section 3 (2) of Regulation No. 1, series of 2014 be amended and shall now read as follows:

œ The Board shall be assisted by a Committee on Reclassification,  Addition,  or Removal  of any Drug/Substance from the List of Dangerous Drugs/Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals composed of two (2) permanent Members of  the  Board,  the  NGO  Representative,  and  representatives from the Department of Justice, Food and Drug Administration, Department  of  Health-Pharmaceutical   Division,  UP-PGH National  Poison  Management  and  Control  Center,  Philippine Drug  Enforcement  Agency,  National  Bureau  of  Investigation, and PNP Crime Laboratory. One Permanent Member shall act as  Chairperson   and  preside   over  the  meetings   while   the Executive Director shall act as the Head Secretariat of the Committee 

œ The Committee shall gather, collect and analyze data relative to a drug and/or substance under question, taking into consideration  the criteria and procedure set forth in Section 93 of the Act. It shall have the authority to conduct public hearings as provided under Section 3(1) (b) of Board Regulation No. 1, series of 2014 and invite experts in the field of drug prevention and  control  who  shall  provide  recommendations  to  the Committee during consultation meetings. Thereafter, the Committee shall submit a report of its findings and recommendation(s)  to the Board.

Experts invited by the Committee shall be entitled to honoraria, transportation or representation allowance subject to pertinent government accounting and auditing rules and regualtions. The Committee shall  take seteps  to  ensure  that  no  conflict  of interest will arise in inviting experts during meetings and deliberations. 

2. That in case any provision of this Regulation is declared invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions and that of the amended Regulation shall not in any way be affected or impaired.

3. That previous issuances inconsistent with this Regulation are hereby repealed.

EFFECTIVITY   -  This  Regulation  shall  take  effect  fifteen  (15)  days  after  its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and registration with the Office of the National Adminitrative Register (ONAR), UP Law Center, Diliman, Quezon City.

APPROVED  and ADOPTED, this 23rd  day of February, in the year of Our Lord, 2018 in Quezon City.