The Consumer Act of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 7394 of 1992) is being revised to address the prevalence of prohibited activities affecting consumer protection and align it with developments in technology in electronic commerce.The House Committee on Trade and Industry led by  Chairperson John Reynald Tiangco, Deputy Speakers Wes Gatchalian   and Rufus Rodriguez approved last February 4, 2021 the substitute bill now called the Revised Consumer Act of the Philippines (RCAP).

The salient features of RCAP are asfollows;

1. It institutionalizesthe eight  ( 8 ) consumer rights –rights to basic needs, choice, representation, redress, consumer education, safety, healthy environment and information; and institutionalizesthe five  (5) consumer responsibilities  - critical awareness, action, social concern, environmental awareness and solidarity– all of which are rights and responsibilities embodied in the United Nations  Guidelines for Consumer Protection or UNGCP;
2. It defines additional terms such as online merchant and  online shopping;

• It empowers the implementing agenciesto close business premises or establishments found in the act of selling unsafe products that are harmful to health and can  cause injury to people;

• It declares a product as imminently injurious, unsafe or dangerous and provides provisional remedies such as immediate recall, ban, prohibition and seizure of non-conforming products;

• It considers non-issuance of express warranty by a manufacturer or service supplier of brand-new products as  a prohibited act;

• It mandates manufacturers to maintain a consumer hotline or service center that consumers can easily reach for complaints and inquiries by phone, email or other effective means;

• It requires translation in  English or Filipino on product labels written in foreign characters/languages to ensure the safety, efficacy and quality of consumer products and services;

• It amends the scope of price tag requirements by providing, among others, that it is unlawful to charge more than the actual retail price when purchase is done with the use of credit cards, automatic teller machine/debit cards or similar means unless authorized in writing by the credit card company and the additional rates are reasonable as determined by the implementing agency;
• It mandates the  use of Timbangan ng Bayan  in all  private  and public markets including flea markets ;

1. It acknowledges the wide use of the internet for consumer transactions in  the definition of mass media, on-line merchants,  and on-line shopping, and penalizes false, deceptive or misleading advertisement via the internet, cyber shops, social networking site, landline or mobile phone;

13. It renames the National Consumer Affairs Council (NCAC) to Consumer Affairs Council of the Philippines (CACP). Henceforth,membership in the CACP will be made up of the DTI, DOH , DepEdand DA,four representatives  from consumer organizations, four representatives from the business sector, and  one representatives each from seven (7) more government agencies - Department of Energy, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Department of Transportation, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Interior and Local Government and  the Philippine Competition Commission ( as moved by Congresswoman Estela Quimbo).

14.     It increases the penalty of fines to not less thanPhp 50,000.00 and up to Php5,000,000.00, and if respondent is a manufacturer, importer or distributor/supplier, from a minimumof P500,000.00; or imprisonment of1 year but not more than 10 years for retailers and service providers; and from 5 years but not more than 10 years for manufacturers, importers, distributors, or suppliers. It likewise clarifies that if the offender is an alien, he shall be deported after service of sentence and payment of fine without need for further deportation proceedings and may be permanently barred from re-entering the Philippines.

Amendments to Article 6 on Definition of Terms were also proposedas follows:

1. electronic commerce or e-commerce” refers to the production, distribution, marketing, sale, or delivery of goods and services by electronic means;

•  “Online merchant” refers to a natural or juridical person, regardless of location, that directly sells, manufactures goods, or offers for sale, any good or service, either individually or through a platform, in the ordinary course of business, over the internet, through a website, an online marketplace, a social media website or application or through other similar means;

On Article 20. Powers, Functions and Duties. -the concerned department shall have the  powers, functions and duties to enter at reasonable hours,premises of business establishments where consumer products are displayed or stored and conduct inspection therein to enforce or ensure compliance with quality and safety consumer product standards or technical regulations;declare a product as imminently injurious, unsafe or dangerous and order its immediate recall, ban, prohibition or seizure from public sale or distribution, or the closure of the business establishment; seize and hold in custody pending proceedings, when the department has reasonable cause to believe that such consumer products may cause injury or prejudice to the consuming public and may result to  anti -competitive practices and all of the above powers to be exercised after due notice and hearing.

Our consumer group supported the RCAP and particularly, the retention of the National Consumer Affairs Council.

Atty. Vic Dimagiba is President of Laban Konsyumer Inc.

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