Short answer. No. RA 9165 includes a separability clause: if a court declares any section, provision, or portion of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act invalid or unconstitutional, only that specific part is affected. Every other provision of the law remains in force and continues to apply, so a single defect does not void the entire statute.
What the law says
the remainder of this Act shall not be affected by such declaration and shall remain in force and effect.
RA 9165, Section 99 — Separability Clause. Read the full provision →
What the law says
declared invalid or unconstitutional
RA 9165, Section 99 — Separability Clause. Read the full provision →
What a separability clause does
A separability clause is a standard closing provision that most Philippine statutes carry, and Section 99 is the version written into the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Its function is narrow but important: it tells courts and enforcement agencies how to treat the rest of the law if a challenge to any single section succeeds.
Without a clause like this, striking down one defective section could put the validity of neighboring sections in doubt. Section 99 removes that doubt in advance by stating the legislature's intent that each provision stands on its own.
When the clause gets used
The clause applies whenever a court declares a section, a provision, or even just a portion of a provision invalid or unconstitutional. It also covers situations where a provision is valid in general but its application to a particular person, group, or circumstance is found improper.
In either case, the ruling is confined to the specific text or application challenged. It does not automatically extend to unrelated sections of the Act, even ones dealing with similar subject matter.
Why this matters for people facing drug charges
Someone accused under the Dangerous Drugs Act sometimes argues that a particular section, for example a penalty provision or a procedural rule, is unconstitutional as applied to their case. Section 99 means that even a successful challenge on that narrow point will not, by itself, dismantle the rest of the law's penalty structure, procedures, or offenses.
A defense built around a constitutional challenge to one provision still has to be argued on its own merits, and any win is limited to that provision.
What the clause does not do
Section 99 preserves the remainder of the Act; it does not shield any individual provision from being challenged in the first place, and it does not decide in advance how a court should rule on such a challenge. Each provision still has to independently withstand scrutiny if it is contested.
It also does not restore or revive a provision once invalidated; that provision stays struck down, while the rest of the statute continues in force around it.