The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it intends to refile a bill amending Republic Act (RA) 7394, or the Consumer Act, which may include provisions on stiffer penalties for violations, in the 17th Congress.
The DTI said the amendment of RA 7394 is just one of the legislative proposals that the Duterte administration intends to push to protect the rights of Filipino consumers.
“We intend to introduce reforms in the Consumer Act. We have a lot of changes to revisit and change. We are reviewing a lot of laws at the moment, including the Consumer Code,” Trade Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Teodoro C. Pascua told the BusinessMirror.
Pascua said his office is currently coordinating with Rep. Joey S. Salceda of Albay and Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri for the possible sponsorship of the measure amending the Consumer Act.
He said the DTI is considering the changes proposed by his predecessor, former Trade Undersecretary Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba. Dimagiba sought to impose heftier penalties and the empowerment of the National Consumers Affairs Council in his proposal.
The former DTI official wanted to increase administrative fines for violators from the existing minimum penalty of P500 to P50,000, to P300,000 to P1 million. Aside from the monetary sanctions, the Consumer Protection group had also proposed to include online commerce-related practices in the law’s coverage.
Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV and Sen. Ralph G. Recto have earlier filed measures proposing amendments to the Consumer Act. Their proposals are currently pending at the committee level.
RA 7394 was signed by the late President Corazon C. Aquino in April 1992. One of the objectives of the law is to protect consumers against “deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales acts and practices.”