Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” C. ENCISO VIII 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The civil justice system is overcrowded, sluggish, and excessively costly and the costs of 
lawsuits, both direct and indirect, are inflicting serious and unnecessary injury on 
individuals. 
There is a need to restore rationality, certainty, and fairness to the civil justice system in 
order to protect the public against excessive, arbitrary, and uncertain damage awards 
and to reduce the volume, costs, and delay of litigation. 
While the State might be able to fully and effectively respond to this problem, due to its 
magnitude, efforts can be made to at least mitigate this predicament. 
This bill seeks to establish certain legal principles of product liability in order to help 
reduce costs of litigation by providing a mechanism for the speedy disposition of 
product-liability cases and a fair balance among the interests of product users, 
manufacturers, and product sellers. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE  
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. HORIBATA 
NICOLAS “NICK” C. ENCISO VIII 
September 13, 2022
8:00 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY “HORI” G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS “NICK” C. ENCISO VIII 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING LEGAL STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR PRODUCT 
LIABILITY LITIGATION AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES  
Be enacted by the Senate and House of Representative of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled, 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Product Liability Act.” 
SECTION 2. Definitions of Terms. – For purposes of this Act, the term: 
(A)
“Actual malice” means specific intent to cause serious physical injury, illness, 
disease, death, or damage to property; 
(B)
“Claimant” means any person who brings an action covered by this title and any 
person whose behalf such an action is brought;  
If such an action is bought through or on behalf of an estate, the term  includes 
the claimant’s decedent. If such an action is brought or on behalf of a minor or 
incompetent, the term includes the claimant’s legal guardian. 
(C)
“Claimant’s benefits” means the amount paid to an employee as worker’s 
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compensation benefits;  
 
(D) “Clear and convincing evidence” is that measure or degree of proof that will 
produce in the mind of the trier of fact a firm belief or conviction as to the truth of 
the allegation sought to be establish; it is the level of proof required to satisfy 
such standard is more than that required under preponderance of the evidence, 
but less than that required for proof beyond a reasonable doubt;  
 
(E) “Commercial loss” means any loss or damage solely to a product itself, loss 
relating to dispute over its value, or consequential economic loss; 
 
(F) 
“Compensatory damages” means damages awarded for economic and 
non-economic loss; 
 
(G) “Economic loss” means any pecuniary loss resulting from harm, including the 
loss of earnings or other benefits related to employment, medical expense loss, 
replacement services loss, loss due to death, burial costs, and loss of business 
or employment opportunities, to the extent recovery for such loss is allowed 
under applicable laws;  
 
(H) “Harm” means any physical injury, illness, disease, or death or damage to 
property caused by a product. The term does not include commercial loss;  
 
(I) 
“Manufacturer” means  
(1) 
Any person who is engaged in a business to produce, create, make, or 
construct any product or component part of a product and who: 
(a) 
Designs or formulates the product or component part of the product; 
or 
(b) 
Has engaged another person to design or formulate the product or 
component part of the product. 
(2) 
A product seller, but only with respect to those aspects of a product or 


 
 
component part of the product which are created or affected when, before 
placing the product in the stream of commerce, the product seller produces, 
creates, makes or construct and designs, or formulates, or has engaged 
another person to design or formulate an aspect of the product or 
component part of the product made by another person; or  
(3) 
Any product seller not described in the preceding subparagraphs but who 
holds himself, herself or itself out as a manufacturer to the user of the 
product. 
 
(J) 
“Non-economic loss” means subjective, non-monetary loss resulting from harm, 
including pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental suffering, emotional distress, 
loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation, and 
humiliation; 
  
(K) “Person” means any individual, corporation, company, association, firm, 
partnership, society, joint stock company, or any other entity, including any 
governmental entity; 
 
(L) 
“Product liability action” means a civil action brought on any theory for harm 
caused by a product.  
 
(M) “Product seller” means a person who in the course of a business conducted for 
that purpose  
(1) 
Sells, distributes, rents, leases, prepares, blends, packages, labels, or 
otherwise is involved in placing a product in the stream of commerce; or  
 
(2) 
Installs, repairs, refurbishes, reconditions, or maintains the harm-causing 
aspect of the product. 
 
The term does not include a seller or lessor of real property; a provider of 
professional services in any case in which the sale or use of a product is incidental to the 


 
 
transaction and the essence of the transaction is the furnishing of judgment, skill, or 
services; any person who acts in only a financial capacity with respect to the sale of a 
product; or leases a product under a lease arrangement in which the lessor does not 
initially select the leased product and does not during the lease term ordinarily control the 
daily operations and maintenance of the product. 
 
SECTION 3. Liability Rules Applicable to product Sellers and Manufacturers. – 
(A)  In General. – In any product liability action, a product seller other than a 
manufacturer shall be liable to a claimant only if the claimant establishes that – 
(1) 
The product that allegedly caused the harm that is the subject of the 
complaint was sold, rented, or leased by the product seller;  
(2) 
The product seller failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to the 
product; 
(3) 
The failure to exercise reasonable care was a direct and proximate cause 
of harm to the claimant;  
(4) 
The product seller made an express warranty applicable to the product that 
allegedly caused the harm that is the subject of the complaint, independent 
of any express warranty made by a manufacturer as to the same product;  
(5) 
The product failed to conform to the warranty;  
(6) 
The failure of the product to conform to the warranty caused harm to the 
claimant;  
(7) 
The product seller engaged in intention wrongdoing, as determined under 
applicable law; and such intentional wrongdoing was a direct and 
proximate cause of the harm that is the subject of the complaint. 
 
(B)  Reasonable Opportunity for Inspection. – A product seller shall not be 
considered to have failed to exercise reasonable care with respect to a product 
based upon an alleged failure to inspect the product if failure occurred because 
there was no reasonable opportunity to inspect the product; or if the inspection, 
in the exercise of reasonable care, would not have revealed the aspect of the 
product which allegedly caused the claimant’s harm. 


 
 
 
(C)  Liability of Manufacturers. – The manufacturer of the product that caused harm 
to the claimant shall be liable subsidiarily. In the event that the product seller has 
no fault or that the manufacturer’s negligence is the direct and proximate cause 
of the harm done, the manufacturer alone shall be held liable. 
 
SECTION 4. Defense Based on Claimants’ Use of Intoxicating Alcohol or Drugs. – In any 
product liability action, it shall be a complete defense to such action if: 
(A) The claimant was intoxicated or was under the influence of intoxicating alcohol 
or any drug when the accident or other event which resulted in such claimant’s 
harm occurred; and  
(B) The claimant, as a result of the influence of the alcohol or drug, was more than 
50 percent responsible for such accident or other event. 
 
SECTION 5. Uniform Time Limitations on Liability. – 
(A)  In General. – The product liability action may be filed not later than 2 years after 
the date on which the claimant discovered or, in the exercise of reasonable care, 
should have discovered – 
(1) 
The harm that is the subject of the action; and  
(2) 
The cause of the harm. 
 
(B)  Exception. – A person with a legal disability, as determined under applicable law, 
may file a product liability action not later than 2 years after the date on which the 
person ceases to have the legal disability. 
 
SECTION 6. Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedure. – 
(A)  Service of Offer. – A claimant or a defendant in a product liability action may not 
later than 60 days after the service of the initial complaint; or the applicable 
deadline for a responsive pleading; whichever is later, shall serve upon an 
adverse party an offer to proceed pursuant to any voluntary, non-binding 
alternative dispute resolution procedure establish under the rules of the court in 


 
 
which such action is maintained. 
 
(B)  Written Notice of Acceptance or Rejection. – Except as provided in paragraph 
(C), not later than 10 days after the service of an offer to proceed under 
paragraph (A), an offeree shall file a written notice of acceptance or rejection of 
the offer. 
 
(C)  Extension. – The court may, upon motion by an offeree made prior to the 
expiration of the 10-day period specified in paragraph (B), extend the period for 
filling a written notice under such subsection for a period of not more than 60 
days after the date of expiration of the period specified in paragraph (B). 
Discovery may be permitted during such period. 
 
SECTION 7. Uniform Standards for Award of Damages. –  
(A)  General Rule. – Damages may, to the extent permitted by applicable law, be 
awarded against a defendant if the claimant establishes by clear and convincing 
evidence that conduct carried out by the defendant with a conscious, flagrant 
indifference to the rights or safety of others was the proximate cause of the harm 
that is the subject of the action in any product liability action. 
 
(B)  Limitation on Amount. – The number of damages that may be awarded in an 
action described in paragraph (A) may not exceed the greater of two (2) times 
the sum of the amount awarded to the claimant for economic loss and 
non-economic loss. 
 
(C)  Exception for Insufficient Award in Cases of Egregious Conduct. -  
(1) 
Determination by Court. – If the court makes a determination, after 
considering each of the factors in subparagraph (2) below, that the award of 
damages is insufficient to punish the egregious conduct of the defendant 
against whom the punitive damages are to be awarded or to deter such 
conduct in the future, the court shall determine the additional number of 


 
 
damages against the defendant in a separate proceeding in accordance 
with this paragraph. 
 
(2) 
Factors for Consideration. – In any proceeding instituted pursuant to this 
Act, the court shall consider –  
(a) 
The extent to which the defendant acted with actual malice;  
(b) 
The likelihood that serious harm would arise from the conduct of the 
defendant;  
(c) 
The degree of the awareness of the defendant of that likelihood;  
(d) 
The profitability of the misconduct to the defendant;  
(e) 
The duration of the misconduct and any concurrent or subsequent 
concealment of the conduct by the defendant;  
(f) 
The attitude and conduct of the defendant upon the discovery of the 
misconduct and whether the misconduct has terminated;  
(g) 
The financial condition of the defendant; and 
 
(3) 
Requirements for Awarding Additional Amount. – If the court awards an 
additional amount pursuant to this subsection, the court shall state its 
reasons for setting the amount of the additional amount in findings of fact 
and conclusions of law. 
 
SECTION 8. Harm Resulting from Action of Employer or Co-employee. – If, with 
respect to a product liability action that is subject to this Act, the manufacturer or product 
seller attempts to persuade the trier of fact that the harm to the claimant, which 
incidentally took place in the workplace, was caused by the fault of the employer of the 
claimant or any co-employee of the claimant, the issue of that fault shall be submitted to 
the trier of fact, but only after the manufacturer or product seller has provided timely 
written notice to the insurer.  
 
If the trier of fact finds by clear and convincing evidence that the harm to the 
claimant that is the subject of the product liability action was caused by the fault of the 


 
 
employer or a co-employer of the claimant – 
(A) The court shall reduce by the amount of the claimant’s benefits the damages 
awarded against the manufacturer or product seller; and any corresponding 
insurer’s subrogation lien; and 
(B) The manufacturer or product seller shall have no further right by way of 
contribution or otherwise against the employer. 
 
SECTION 9. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting. 
  
 
SECTION 10. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or 
inconsistent with the provision of this. Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
accordingly. 
 
SECTION 11. Effectivity Clause. – this Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,