Six months in jail for retailers imposing extra fees

Consumers who have taken to whipping out credit cards to pay for items could take a breather with the recent issuance of Administrative Order No.10 by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The draft administrative order prohibits the imposition of additional surcharges on products and services purchased through the use of a credit card. Shops normally display two prices – one for cash payment and another for credit card – for products or services. Retailers normally impose a surcharge of five to 10 percent or more on products or services that will be paid for via credit card, instead of cash. Under AO 10, shop owners will be required to display only one tag to indicate the price, which is in keeping with Articles 81 to 83 of the Consumer Act. The move has been lauded by Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago who has been batting for the removal of unfair credit card and bank surcharges through House Bill 4630 for almost two years. According to the Credit Card Association of the Philippines, there are now almost five million card-carrying Filipinos. The Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) and the CCAP have been blaming each other for the imposition of the extra charges. According to the PRA, card issuers exact two to three percent of the purchase price as processing fees. Hence, retailers have no choice but to pass on the extra charge to card holders. CCAP, on the other hand, said it has nothing to do with the extra fees and passed on the blame to retailers. Starting Nov. 5, anyone caught violating the DTI order will face up to six months imprisonment or a fine of up to P5,000. A second violation would result in the revocation of the shop’s business permit and license.

US midterm elections could boost jobs

The result of the Nov. 7 midterm elections in the US will impact on the Philippines, a labor group headed by former senator Ernesto Herrera claims, saying a win by the Democrats would mean more investments and jobs for Filipinos. Herrera was referring to the promise by Democrats to raise the federal minimum wage, which could prompt American investors to transfer jobs to lower-cost areas like the Philippines. This would include not only technology driven jobs in the business process outsourcing industry, but also the semiconductor and electronics industries, Herrera said. According to the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, export driven chip makers and outsourcing providers have been key drivers of Philippine economic and employment growth, with the semiconductor and electronics industries producing some 26,167 jobs so far this year mainly from expansion projects. US-based chip makers with rapidly growing Philippine operations include Intel Corp., Texas Instruments and National Semiconductor Corp. Over 400,000 Filipinos are directly employed with some $27.3 billion generated in foreign sales last year, TUCP said. On the other hand, technology-enabled outsourcing services are projected to engage more than one million Filipinos by 2010, the Business Process Outsourcing Association of the Philippines said.

Spybiz-mis: Gay-ly married

Blogs and user groups are being saturated with news that this handsome and young looking former news reporter from a big network allegedly went to the US to marry his longtime boyfriend. According to sources, the reporter got married in Las Vegas, Nevada sometime this month. Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union applauded a unanimous decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court which gives same-sex couples the same family protection rights as heterosexual couples, but left it to lawmakers to rewrite marriage laws and legalize same-sex unions in 180 days. As they say, cheers to Pride!

Spy tidbiz: A ‘cimaron’ named Paeng

With super typhoon "Paeng" slicing its way through northern Luzon and registering winds exceeding 185 kilometers per hour over the weekend, a lot of Filipinos have shelved plans to visit their hometowns for All Saints’ Day despite news that the typhoon will leave before Nov. 1, afraid that they could get stranded due to floods or mudslides. It looks like Paeng is trying to live up to its international code name of "Cimaron" which is Filipino for "wild ox," going on a rampage, wreaking havoc and blowing away houses, trees and power lines along its path and battering a number of provinces like Cagayan, Isabela, Aurora and Quirino.

* * *

Join our ring of Eye-spies by sending your intelligence information, complaints, pictures, and comments to [email protected].

All information will be strictly confidential.