After facing backlash from online merchants, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will no longer mandate the E-Commerce Philippine Trustmark, instead making the requirement voluntary until the end of the year.

In a statement, the DTI said the move was announced by Trade Secretary Cristina Roque during a town hall meeting about the trustmark’s implementation on Wednesday, Oct. 15.

Roque said that hearing directly from stakeholders made the agency want to improve the trustmark to make it more “useful, fair, and helpful for both businesses and consumers.”

“After all, our shared goal is to make e-commerce in the Philippines safer and more trustworthy for everyone,” she said.

The secretary—and the DTI as a whole—has been on the receiving end of outrage among online merchants, who have been labeling the trustmark as an additional burden.

The DTI even disabled the comment feature on its Facebook page after being bombarded with criticism on every post, even those unrelated to the trustmark.

The trustmark, aligned with the Internet Transactions Act, serves as a digital badge to ensure that online platforms and merchants are compliant with fair e-commerce practices.

It is designed to help consumers identify legitimate businesses, protecting them against unfair trade practices, scams, and other fraudulent activities.

Under the new policy, the DTI said that the trustmark will be voluntary until Dec. 31.

So far, the DTI is still finalizing supplemental guidelines for this policy, including fees that depend on the size or type of business, among other details.

By early 2026, the department is expected to evaluate whether the trustmark registration will remain voluntary.

The deadline for the mandatory trustmark was previously set for Dec. 31, following an initial date of Sept. 30 due to low registration numbers.

The trustmark was previously changed from voluntary to mandatory following a surge in consumer complaints.

While the requirement would be voluntary until the end of the year, the DTI said “all existing laws related to e-commerce continue to be strictly enforced.”

According to the DTI, this announcement, made during Wednesday’s town hall, was lauded by consumer organizations for protecting buyers and helping to mitigate illegitimate entities and fraud.

Consumers, according to the agency, called for wider promotion and education on the program as a supplementary measure.

“Furthermore, they have underscored their preference to have the program mandatory,” it said.