DTI sets up online complaints resolution system

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is launching an online complaints resolution system later this month to quickly address the concerns raised by consumers.

The DTI said the Philippine Online Dispute Resolution System (PODRS) or the Online Consumer Complaints Assistance and Resolution (Consumer CARe) System would be rolled out during the 3rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Consumer Protection Conference (ACPC) to be hosted by the Philippines on June 28.

The PODRS will automate and streamline the government’s handling of consumer complaints by connecting all agencies with consumer protection functions.

Through the online system, consumers can file a complaint in relation to a product or service from any offline or online business in the country.

To establish and operationalize the system, the DTI worked with the United States Agency for International Development  (USAID) and the University of the Philippines Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation Inc.

The launch of the PODRS is in line with the country’s commitment to the ASEAN to promote consumer confidence in cross-border transactions.

Consumer complaints in the country increased in 2020, following the rise in online shopping due to mobility restrictions imposed to prevent the spread of COVID- 19.

However, Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo earlier reported a 25 percent drop in consumer complaints involving online transactions to around 12,000 last year from 16,000 in 2020.

Castelo attributed the decline to the easing of mobility restrictions paving the way for online platforms to improve their operations and capability to address complaints.

Castelo said consumers have also become more familiar with how e-commerce works and are able to transact without glitch.

For the first two months of the year, the DTI received 2,059 complaints involving online transactions.

With the theme “Building a Fair and Future-Ready Marketplace for Consumers in ASEAN,” the ACPC will showcase milestones in consumer protection policy, advocacy, and enforcement in the Philippines, as well as other ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand Singapore, and Vietnam.

The conference will also feature other breakthroughs such as the launch of the ASEAN Committee on Consumer Protection Learning Management System of the Online Interactive and Distance Learning Tools, the ASEAN Regional Complaints Platform, and the ASEAN Sustainable Consumption Toolkit.