Philippines

PMFTC, a joint venture between Fortune Tobacco Company (FTC) and Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc., filed a petition against the Philippines Department of Health asking the court to void Administrative Order 2010-0013.  The Department of Health ("DOH") argued the case should be dismissed because FTC and PMFTC were the same entity.  The DOH also argued that FTC and PFMTC represented the same interest of having Administrative Order 2010-0013 annulled in this case and in City of Makati v. Municipality (now City) of Taguig.  Using the two different courts violated the rules against forum shopping. In reaching the decision to grant DOH's motion, the court held that in this case and City of Makati, PMFTC and FTC represented the same interests. If the courts ruled differently on the Administrative Order, it would lead to much confusion.  However, the court refused to find FTC liable holding that while PMFTC and FTC had similar business interests, the two corporations were not the same corporate entity.