KNOW YOUR CONSUMER RIGHTS

The Consumer Act of the Philippines

• Republic Act No. 7394

• General Provisions Include:

  • Consumer Product Quality and Safety

  • Consumer Rights

  • Food, Drugs, Cosmetics And Devices

  • Hazardous Substance

  • Deceptive, Unfair and Unconscionable Sales Acts or Practices

  • Regulation of Practices Relative to Weights and Measures

  • Consumer Product and Service Warranties

  • Labeling and Fair Packaging

  • Liability for Product and Service

  • Advertising and Sales Promotion

  • Regulation of Repair and Service Firms

  • Consumer Credit Transaction

  • Consumer Complaints

Declaration of Basic Policy

• State Policy:

  • Protect consumer interests and promote general welfare.

  • Establish standards of conduct for businesses and industries.

• Objectives of the Act:

  • Focused on the welfare, protection, and rights of all consumers in the Philippines.

Objectives of this Act

• Key Objectives Include:

  • Protection Against Hazards to Health and Safety

  • Protection Against Deceptive, Unfair, and Unconscionable Sales Acts and Practices

  • Provision of Information and Education

  • To facilitate sound choice and the proper exercise of rights by the consumer.

  • Provision of Adequate Rights and Means of Redress

  • Involvement of Consumer Representatives

  • In the formulation of social and economic policies.

Purpose

• Law Purpose:

  • Prevent businesses from engaging in fraud or specified unfair practices and gaining an advantage over competitors.

  • Provide additional protection for the weak and those unable to take care of themselves.

Scope of Law

• Audience:

  • This law is applicable to all individuals, as everyone is a consumer.

Consumer Product Quality and Safety

• State Duties Include:

  • Develop safety and quality standards for consumer products.

  • This includes performance-oriented standards, codes of practice, and methods of testing.

  • Assist consumers in evaluating quality, safety, performance, and comparative utility of products.

  • Protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury related to consumer products.

  • Undertake research on product quality improvement and investigate causes and prevention of product-related adverse effects (deaths, illness, injuries).

  • Assure public consistency in standardized products.

Implementing Agencies

• Responsible Entities:

  • Department of Health:

  • In charge of food, drugs, cosmetics, devices, and substances.

  • Department of Agriculture:

  • Responsible for products related to agriculture.

  • Department of Trade and Industry:

  • Handles consumer products not covered by the above departments.

Consumer Rights

• Defined Consumer Rights:

  • Right to Basic Needs

  • Right to Safety

  • Right to Information

  • Right to Choice

  • Right to Representation

  • Right to Redress

  • Right to Consumer Education

  • Right to a Healthy Environment

Food, Drugs, Cosmetics and Devices

• State Responsibilities:

  • Ensure safety and good quality of food, drugs, cosmetics, and devices while regulating their production, sale, distribution, and advertisement.

  • Protect consumer health.

Specific Actions by the Department of Health

• Regulatory Measures Include:

  • Establish standards and quality measures for food, drugs, devices, and cosmetics.

  • Adopt measures to ensure the purity and safety of foods and cosmetics, and efficacy of drugs and devices.

  • Implement controls on unregistered, unsafe, or inefficacious drugs and devices.

  • Strengthen the Bureau of Food and Drugs.

Hazardous Substance

• State Measures:

  • Adopt measures to safeguard consumers against substances (excluding food, drugs, cosmetics, and devices) that are hazardous to health and safety.

Deceptive, Unfair, and Unconscionable Sales Acts or Practices

• State Promotion:

  • Encourages fair, honest, and equitable relations among parties in consumer transactions.

  • Protect consumers from deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales acts or practices.

Regulation of Practices Relative to Weights and Measures

• Implementation:

  • Enforced by provincial, city, or municipal treasurers.

  • Metric System enforcement to be conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry.

Consumer Product and Service Warranties

• Warranties Enforcement:

  • Enforced strictly by the Department of Trade and Industry and applicable to all contracts of sale with conditions and warranties as per the Civil Code.

Warranty Types

• Full Warranty:

  • Duration: 1 Year

• Limited Warranty:

  • Specifies conditions and limitations.

Labeling and Fair Packaging

• Enforcement:

  • Compulsory labeling and fair packaging requirements ensure consumers receive accurate information regarding products.

  • Aids consumers in comparing the value of products.

Nutrition Information Example

• Labeling Information Sample:

  • Servings per package: 8

  • Serving size: 33g

  • Nutritional breakdown per serving:

  • Energy: 550kJ (per 100g: 1680kJ)

  • Protein: 2.4g (per 100g: 7.2g)

  • Total Fat: 3.6g (per 100g: 9.0g)

  • Saturated Fat: 1.3g (per 100g: 4.1g)

  • Total Carbohydrate: 21.5g (per 100g: 55.1g)

  • Sugars: 10.1g (per 100g: 30.7g)

  • Dietary Fibre: 1.7g (per 100g: 5.1g)

  • Sodium: 20mg (per 100g: 70mg)

Philippine Product Standard Mark

• Certification Marks:

  • Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Mark and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) sticker assure consumers of certified quality and safety products that conform to relevant Philippine National Standards (PNS).

Liability for Product and Service

• Liability Coverage:

  • Department of Trade and Industry shall enforce the liability provisions for defective products.

  • Manufacturers, producers, and importers are liable for damages caused to consumers by defects in design, manufacturing, and handling, irrespective of fault.

  • This includes inadequate information about product usage and hazards.