CHAPTER I
CONSUMER PRODUCT QUALITY AND SAFETY
Article 5. Declaration of Policy. – It shall be the duty of the State:
a) to develop and provide safety and quality standards for consumer products, including performance or use-oriented
standards, codes of practice and methods of tests;
b) to assist the consumer in evaluating the quality, including safety, performance and comparative utility of consumer
products;
c) to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury associated with consumer products;
d) to undertake research on quality improvement of products and investigation into causes and prevention of product
related deaths, illness and injuries;
e) to assure the public of the consistency of standardized products.
Article 6. Implementing Agencies. – The provisions of this Article and its implementing rules and regulations shall be enforced by:
a) the Department of Health with respect to food, drugs, cosmetics, devices and substances;
b) the Department of Agriculture with respect to products related to agriculture, and;
c) the Department of Trade and Industry with respect to other consumer products not specified above.
Article 7. Promulgation and Adoption of Consumer Product Standards. – The concerned department shall establish consumer product quality
and safety standards which shall consist of one or more of the following:
a) requirements to performance, composition, contents, design, construction, finish, packaging of a consumer product;
b) requirements as to kind, class, grade, dimensions, weights, material;
c) requirements as to the methods of sampling, tests and codes used to check the quality of the products;
d) requirements as to precautions in storage, transporting and packaging;
e) requirements 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.
For this purpose, the concerned department shall adopt existing government domestic product quality and safety standards: Provided, That in the
absence of such standards, the concerned department shall form specialized technical committees composed of equal number of representatives
from each of the Government, business and consumer sectors to formulate, develop and purpose consumer product quality and safety standards.
The said technical committees shall consult with the private sector, which may, motu proprio, develop its own quality and safety standards that
shall be subject or agencies after public hearings have been conducted for that purpose; and shall likewise consider existing international
standards recognized by the Philippine Government.
Article 8. Publication of Consumer Product Standards. – The concerned departments shall, upon promulgation of the above standards,
publish or cause the publication of the same in two (2) newspapers of general circulation at least once a week for a period of not less than one (1)
month. It may likewise conduct an information campaign through other means deemed effective to ensure the proper guidance of consumers,
businesses, industries and other sectors concerned.
Article 9. Effectivity of Rules. – a) Each consumer product standard or safety rule shall specify the date such rule is to take effect, which shall
not exceed ninety (90) days from the date promulgated unless the concerned department funds, for good cause shown, that a later effective date
is in the public interest and publishes its reasons for such finding. After which, it shall no longer be legal to, or cause to, sell or distribute the
consumer product not complying with the standards or rules.
b) The department may, by regulation, prohibit a manufacturer from stockpiling consumer products so as to prevent such
manufacturer from circumventing the purposes of this paragraph. The term "stockpiling" means manufacturing or importing
a product between the date of promulgation of its consumer product safety rule and its effective date, at a rate which is
significantly greater than the rate at which such product was produced or imported during a base period as prescribed in
the regulation under this paragraph, ending before the date of promulgation of consumer product safety rule.
Article 10. Injurious, Dangerous and Unsafe Products. – Whenever the departments find, by their own initiative or by petition of a consumer,
that a consumer product is found to be injurious, unsafe or dangerous, it shall, after due notice and hearing, make the appropriate order for its
recall, prohibition or seizure from public sale or distribution: Provided, That, in the sound discretion of the department it may declare a consumer
product to be imminently injurious, unsafe or dangerous, and order is immediate recall, ban or seizure from public sale or distribution, in which
case, the seller, distributor, manufacturer or producer thereof shall be afforded a hearing within forty-eight (48) hours from such order.
The ban on the sale and distribution of a consumer product adjudged injurious, unsafe or dangerous, or imminently injurious, unsafe or dangerous
under the preceding paragraph shall stay in force until such time that its safety can be assured or measures to ensure its safety have been
established.
Article 11. Amendment and Revocation of Declaration of the Injurious, Unsafe or Dangerous Character of a Consumer Product. – Any
interested person may petition the appropriate department to commence a proceeding for the issuance of an amendment or revocation of a
consumer product safety rule or an order declaring a consumer product injurious, dangerous and unsafe.
In case the department, upon petition by an interested party or its own initiative and after due notice and hearing, determines a consumer product
to be substandard or materially defective, it shall so notify the manufacturer, distributor or seller thereof of such finding and order such
manufacturer, distributor or seller to:
a) give notice to the public of the defect or failure to comply with the product safety standards; and
b) give notice to each distributor or retailer of such product.
The department shall also direct the manufacturer, distributor or seller of such product to extend any or all of the following remedies to the injured
person:
a) to bring such product into conformity with the requirements of the applicable consumer product standards or to repair the
defect in order to conform with the same;
b) to replace the product with a like or equivalent product which complies with the applicable consumer product standards
which does not contain the defect;
c) to refund the purchase price of the product less a reasonable allowance for use; and
d) to pay the consumer reasonable damages as may be determined by the department.
The manufacturer, distributor or seller shall not charge a consumer who avails himself of the remedy as provided above of any expense and cost
that may be incurred.
Article 12. Effectivity of Amendments and Revocation of Consumer Product Safety Rule. – Any amendment or revocation of a consumer
product safety rule made by the concerned department shall specify the date on which it shall take effect which shall not exceed ninety days from
the date of amendment or revocation is published unless the concerned department finds, for a good cause shown, that a later effective date is in
the public interest and publishes its reasons for such finding. The department shall promulgate the necessary rules for the issuance, amendment
or revocation of any consumer product safety rule.
Article 13. New Products. – The concerned department shall take measures to make a list of new consumer products and to cause the
publication by the respective manufacturers or importers of such products a list thereof together with the descriptions in a newspaper of general
circulation.
Article 14. Certification of Conformity to Consumer Product Standards. – The concerned department shall aim at having consumer product
standards established for every consumer product so that consumer products shall be distributed in commerce only after inspection and
certification of its quality and safety standards by the department. The manufacturer shall avail of the Philippine Standard Certification Mark which
the department shall grant after determining the product's compliance with the relevant standard in accordance with the implementing rules and
regulations.