Section 50. Penalties.—

1. Any person who commits the prohibited act under Section 22 of this Act on misinformation on HIV and AIDS shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment ranging from one (1) year but not more than ten (10) years, a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00), but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00), or both, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That if the offender is a manufacturer, importer or distributor of any drugs, devices, agents, and other health products, 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 (₱500,000.00), but not more than Five million pesos (₱5,000,000.00) shall be imposed: Provided, further, That drugs, devices, agents, and other health products found in violation of Section 21 of this Act may be seized and held in custody when the FDA Director-General has reasonable cause to believe 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;

2. Any person who violates the second sentence of Section 24 of this Act on police operations vis-á-vis comprehensive health intervention for key populations shall, upon conviction suffer the penalty of imprisonment of one (1) year to five (5) years, and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000.00), but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00): Provided, That the law enforcement agents found guilty shall be removed from public service;

3. Any person who knowingly or negligently causes another to get infected with HIV in the course of the practice of profession through unsafe and unsanitary practice and procedure, or who compelled any person to undergo HIV testing without his or her consent shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six (6) years to twelve (12) years, without prejudice to the imposition of fines and administrative sanctions, such as suspension or revocation of professional license;

   The permit or license of the business entity and the accreditation of the HIV testing centers may be cancelled or withdrawn if these establishments fail to maintain safe practices and procedures as may be required by the guidelines formulated in compliance with Section 26. on blood, tissue, or organ donation, and Section 28, on medical management, surgical, and other’ related procedures;

4. Any person who violates Section 41 of this Act. on the protection of HIV educators, licensed social workers, health workers, and other HIV and AIDS service providers from harassment shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months to five (5) years, and a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000.00). but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00); Provided, That if the person who violates this provision is a law enforcement agent or a public official, administrative sanctions may be imposed in addition to imprisonment and/ or fine, at the discretion of the court;

5. Any person, natural or juridical, who violates the provisions of Section 42 of this Act on health insurance and similar services shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months to five (5) years, and/or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00). at the discretion of the court, and without prejudice to the imposition of administrative sanctions such as fines, suspensions or revocation of business permit, business license or accreditation, and professional license;

6. Any person who violates the provisions of Section 44 of this Act on confidentiality shall, upon conviction, suffer the following penalties:

   1. Six (6) months to two (2) years of imprisonment for any person who breaches confidentiality, and/or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00), but not more than One hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱150,000.00), at the discretion of the court;

   2. Two 2. years and one (1) day to five (5) years of imprisonment for any person who causes the mass dissemination of the HIV status of a person, including spreading the information online or making statements to the media, and/or a fine of not less than One hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱150,000.00), but not more than Three hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱350,000.00). at the discretion of the court; and

   3. Five (5) years and one (1) day to seven (1) years of imprisonment for any health professional, medical instructor, worker, employer, recruitment agency, insurance company, data encoder, and other custodian of any medical record, file, data, or test result who breaches confidentiality, and/or a fine of not less than Three hundred fifty thousand pesos (₱350,000.00), but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00), at the discretion of the court.

   These penalties are without prejudice to any administrative sanction or civil suit that may be brought against persons who violate confidentiality under this Act.

7. Any person who shall violate any of the provisions in Section 49 on discriminatory acts and practices shall, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six (6) months to five (5) years, and/or a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000.00), but not more than Five hundred thousand pesos (₱500,000.00), at the discretion of the court, and without prejudice to the imposition of administrative sanctions such as fines, suspension or revocation of business permit, business license or accreditation, and professional license; and

8. Any person who has obtained knowledge of confidential HIV and AIDS information and uses such information to malign or cause damage, injury, or loss to another person shall face liability under Articles 19, 20, 21, and 26 of the new Civil Code of the Philippines and relevant provisions of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act of 2012”.

If the offender is a corporation, association, partnership or any other juridical person, the penalty of imprisonment shall be imposed upon the responsible officers and employees, as the case may be, who participated in, or allowed by their gross negligence, the commission of the crime, and the fine shall be imposed jointly and severally on the juridical person and the responsible officers and/or employees. Furthermore, the court may suspend or revoke its license or business permit.

if the offender is an alien, he/she shall, in addition to the penalties prescribed herein, be deported without further proceeding’s after serving penalties herein prescribed.

if the offender is a public official or employee, he/she shall, in addition to the penalties herein, suffer perpetual or temporary absolute disqualification from office, as the case may be.