NOTES
BSSLAW4
Consumer Act of the Philippines (RA No. 7394)
- constitutional mandate
- policy of the state to protect the interests of the
consumer promote his general welfare and to establish
standards of conduct for business and industry.
Article 16, Section 9: the State shall protect consumers
from trade malpractices and from substandard or
hazardous products.
OBJECTIVES
1. Protection of consumers against hazards to health
and safety
2. Protection of consumers against deceptive, unfair
and unconscionable sales acts and practices
3. Provision of information and education to facilitate
sound choice and the proper exercise of rights by
the consumer
4. Provision of adequate rights and means of redress
5. Involvement of consumer representative in the
formulation of social and economic policies
AGENCIES MANDATED TO IMPLEMENT THIS LAW
1. Department of Health- foods, drugs, cosmetics, devices
and substances
2. Department of Agriculture- agricultural products
3. Department of Trade and Industry- other consumer
products not specified above
 Bureau of Philippine Standards- the National
Standards Body of the Philippines and is responsible
in
developing/adopting,
implementing
and
promoting Philippine National Standards.
 Establish PNS for products, as well as test
methods and codes of practice, to provide the
technical bases for the importation of quality
and safe products and for the inspection. Testing
and certification of these products
 Provide the Bureau of Customs a list of products
under mandatory Philippine Standards, the
product certification as a guide to incoming
shipments
 It shall inspect and obtain samples from import
shipments, covered by mandatory BPS product
certification, for testing and certification
purposes
It shall issue Conditional Release pending the
issuance of import commodity clearance and if
denied, the importation shall be re-exported by
the importer
 To conduct necessary tests for products
 It shall recommend to the Bureau of Customs the
issuance of Warrant of Seizure and Detention for
offending shipment
SALIENT POINTS
1. Consumer Product Quality and Safety
Inclusions:
- requirement as to performance, composition, contents,
design, construction, finish, packaging of a consumer
product
- requirements as to kind, class, grade, dimensions, weight,
materials
- requirements as to methods of sampling, tests and codes
used to check the quality of the product
- requirements as to precautions in storage, transporting
and packaging
- requirement that a consumer product be marked with or
accompanied by clear and adequate safety warnings or
instructions, or requirements respecting the form of
warnings or instructions
***the concerned department shall adopt existing
government domestic product quality and safety
standards provided that in the absence of such standards
***the concern department shall specialized technical
committees(shall consult with the private sector which
may motopropio develop its own quality and safety
standards that shall be subject to review and approval of
the concerned government agency/ies)
composed of
equal number of representatives from each of the
government business and consumer sectors to formulate,
develop and propose consumer product quality and
safety standards
***shall consider existing international recognized
standards recognized by the Philippine government.
2. Deceptive Sales Acts and Practices
- a deceptive act or practice by a seller or supplier in
connection with a consumer transaction violates the
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT whether it occurs before,
during or after the transaction.

- an act or practice shall be deemed deceptive
whenever the producer, manufacturer, supplier or seller,
through concealment, false representation or fraudulent
manipulation, induces a consumer to enter into sales or
lease transaction of any consumer product or service.
***it is deceptive when;
 A consumer product or service has the sponsorship,
approval, performance, characteristics, ingredients,
accessories, uses or benefits it does not have
 A consumer product or service is of a particular
standard, quality, grade, style or model when in
fact it is not
 A consumer product is new, original or unused,
when in fact, it is in a deteriorated, altered,
reconditioned, reclaimed or second-hand state
 A consumer product or service is available to the
consumer for a reason that is different from the fact
 A consumer product or service has been supplied in
accordance with the previous representation when
in fact it is not
 A consumer product or service can be supplied in a
quantity greater than the supplier intends
 A service or repair of a consumer product is needed
when in fact it is not
 A specific price advantage of a consumer product
exists when in fact it does not
 The sales act or practice involves or does not
involve a warranty, a disclaimer or warranties,
particular warranty terms or other rights, remedies or
obligations of the indication is false
 The seller or supplier has a sponsorship, approval or
affiliation he does not have
3. Product Service and Warranty
4. Labeling and Packaging
5. Consumer Rights
a) Price Tag Act
b) Lemon Law
DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Consumers- a natural person who is a purchaser,
lessee, recipient or prospective purchaser, lessor or
recipient of consumers products, services or credit.
NOTES
2. Consumer Protection- a concept that is designed to
ensure fair competition and the free flow of truthful
information in the marketplace.
- laws designed to prevent businesses that engage in
fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an
advantage over competitors and provide additional
protection for the weak and those unable to take care of
themselves.
BASIC POLICY
1. To assist the consumer in evaluating the quality
including safety, performance, and comparative utility of
consumer products
2. To protect the public against unreasonable risks of
injury associated with consumer products
3. To undertake research on quality improvement of
products and investigation into causes and prevention of
product related deaths, illness and injuries
4. To assure the public of the consistency of standardized
products
3. Consumer Products/Services- goods, services and
credits, debts or obligations which are primarily for
personal, family, household or agricultural purpose which
shall include, but not limited to food, drugs, cosmetics
and devices.
4. Standard- document established by consensus and
approved by a recognized body, that provides, for
common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or
characteristics for activities or their results, aimed at the
achievement of the optimum degree of order in a given
context. This should be based on the consolidated results
of science, technology and experience and aimed at
the promotion of optimum community benefits.
***a set of conditions to be fulfilled to ensure the quality
and safety of a product.
Kinds of Standards
 Basic Standard- has a wide-ranging coverage or
contains general provisions for one particular field. It
may function as a standard for direct application or
as a basis for other standards.
 Terminology Standard- concerned with terms, usually
accompanied by their definitions and sometimes by
explanatory notes, illustrations, examples, etc.
Testing Standard- concerned with test methods,
sometimes supplemented with other provisions related
to testing, such as sampling, use of statistical methods,
sequence of tests.
 Product Standard- specifies requirements to be fulfilled
by a product or a group of products, to establish it
fitness for purpose. It may also include an addition to
the fitness for purpose requirements, directly or by
reference aspects such as terminology, sampling,
testing,
packaging,
labeling
and
processing
requirements.
 Process(Service) Standard- specifies requirements to
be fulfilled by a process(service), to establish its fitness
for purpose.
 Interface Standard- specifies requirements concerned
with the compatibility of products or systems at their
points of interconnection.
 Standard on Data to be Provided- contains a list of
characteristics for which values or other data are to
be stated for specifying the product, process or
service.
5. Standardization- an activity of establishing, with regard
to actual or potential problems, provisions for common
and repeated use, aimed at the achievement of optimum
degree of order in a given context. In particular, the
activity consists of the processes of formulating, issuing and
implementing standards.
Benefits
 Improvement of the suitability of products, processes
and services for their intended purposes
 Prevention of barriers to trade and facilitation of
technological cooperation
