The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is reviewing the Philippine Lemon law, noting observations that the three-year-old law has proven to be either inutile or redundant to existing fair-trade laws.
Trade Undersecretary for the Consumer Protection Group Teodoro C. Pascua said the result of the DTI review will be submitted to Congress when sessions resume in May for possible legislative action.
“We’re trying to study the Lemon law, because current fair-trade laws answer to all the issues already,” Pascua said.
He added the law does not appear to be a popular legal recourse for disgruntled buyers of new vehicles.
“Since the law’s enactment in 2013, we’ve only received about six or seven cases from that time, the point that I think needs evaluation eventually, and I’ve told the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau and the Consumer Protection Advocacy Bureau about this,” he said, while declining to make a recommendation—whether it would be a repeal or mere amendment—pending the review of the law. Pascua said they will communicate the results of their review to Congress to encourage action on the law.
He noted that the procedures for consumer redress in the Lemon law only prolongs the process to deliver consumer relief.
“The process only becomes sort of a duplication, and to a degree, takes longer to resolve because it requires at least four or five test repairs. In existing laws, there are only three routes: Replace, repair or refund. Why go through a long process?” Pascua pointed out.
The Philippine Lemon law, or RA 10642, signed into law in 2014, was designed to protect buyers of brand-new vehicles through a specific redress mechanism on top of the warranty given by car manufacturers.
The law provides that the consumer, upon finding a defect on a brand-new vehicle, can notify the motor-vehicle dealer, distributor or manufacturer, and is entitled to four repair attempts.
The Lemon law period covers the 12 months from the date of original delivery of the vehicle to the consumer, or up to 20,000 kilometers of operation, after such delivery, whichever comes first.