Beer: Not Illegal for Minors?
DISCLAIMER: I am not the person who habitually drinks alcoholic substances. This is applicable to the Philippines.
The Misconception
I bet most of you knew that the sale or offer to sell to minors of all alcoholic beverages, including beer, to minors is illegal. But after doing some intensive research about the matter, I found out that most of the commercially-available beer beverages in the country are not illegal for sale to minors.
PD 1619 Says…
According to the Presidential Decree No. 1619 Section 6 signed by Former President Ferdinand E. Marcos:
The sale of, and offer to sell, to minors of liquors or beverages containing an alcoholic content of thirty per centum or above (60 proof or above) is hereby prohibited and shall be punishable by imprisonment ranging from six months and one day to four years and a fine ranging from six hundred to four thousand pesos.
Research
As far as I know, one per centum is equal to one percent alcohol volume. So comparing it to my compiled list of researched percent alcohol volume of San Miguel Products available in the country, all of them are below the set limits. Here’s my list:
| Beer (reference) | % Alcohol Volume |
|---|---|
| Red Horse (Extra Strong)Beer | 7.00 |
| San Miguel Pale Pilsen | 5.00 |
| San Miguel Blue Ice Beer | 5.00 |
| San Miguel Non-Alcoholic Beer | 0.00 |
| San Miguel Strong Ice Beer | 5.00 |
| San Mig Light | 5.00 |
| San Miguel Super Dry Beer | 5.00 |
Conclusion
None exceeded 30, right? So what does that mean? Is it legal to minors? Uhm, as far as I understand it the answer is YES. 
(I’m not sure, okay)
May it be a YES or a NO, just remember to drink moderately.
Conrad Miguel E. Gozalo is a 17-year old guy from General Santos City, Philippines. He is currently taking up his BS Computer Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is a proud Linux user since August 2008. He is also a big fan of Free and Open Source Software. Know more about him on the 
