The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Rose de la Cruz
Local appliance manufacturers, who employ about 300,000 people, are lamenting the entry of unregulated imported appliances sold in online portals at dumping prices, thereby threatening their businesses and the jobs of those in their payroll.
At the hearing of the House Committee on Trade and Industry inquiry on Monday, ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo said local manufacturers appealed for lawmakers to take action as their industry continues to take a hit due to cheaper unregistered products in the online market. They are demanding no less than a level playing field with merchants selling their wares in online platforms like Lazada, Shopee and Tiktok.
“Their survival is being undermined by the flood of substandard and uncertified goods being sold through online platforms like Shopee and Lazada, often at suspiciously low prices. This is not just an issue of competition; it is an issue of fairness and survival,” ABSCBN quoted Tulfo saying in his opening statement. The issue was raised by the Association of Small Domestic Appliances of the Philippines.
Caroline Yao, president/CEO of Tough Mama Home and Kitchen Appliances, said their industry which employs 300,000 workers has been very much affected by online sales which have been prevailing for several years now.
“The government imposes, the DTI especially,, several regulations on local brands. We go through several procedures before we can get the goods to legitimately sell in our markets like SM, Abenson and Automatic Center, which are very strict with us, If we don’t have the sticker, they will not allow us to sell,” she said.
Yao said they have been told that most of these imported products sold online are substandard and fake that advertise themselves as big brands but are all unbranded appliances from China. “All the legitimate businesses are affected, that’s why we are asking the government for more support,” she added.
She questioned why regulators are strict with local manufacturers but are quite lenient for sellers in major e-commerce platforms like Lazada, Shopee and TikTok.
The DTI- Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (DTI-FTEB) said it had found violations in a total of 156,572 items as of October 2024, higher than over 1,043 it seized in 2023. “We conduct surveillance and enforcement activities covering the products mentioned like home appliances and kitchen appliances. We also file administrative charges and conduct adjudication,” DTI-FTEB Director Regino Mallari said.
The FTEB has 54 personnel. 40 doing physical monitoring and 13 for online monitoring, he said..
Atty. Cherryl Carbonell of DTI said the department has started crafting the policy requiring online sellers of products that are under mandatory certification scheme of DTI to register with the DTI. Essentially pag di registered sa amin, the platforms must take them down. They should not be allowed to sell online” and said platforms will be held liable and face fines for non-compliance with DTI’s notice to remove flagged sellers..
Lawmakers said it’s a tall task for regulators to monitor compliance of all sellers on online platforms, especially offshore retailers. They also questioned if the Bureau of Customs can check all the products in the thousands of containers that enter the country’s ports.
Panel chair Rep. Ferjenel Biron cited the need to craft a law disallowing these platforms to sell. “Unless we create a very strong law penalizing these illegal sellers, nothing will happen.”
Tulfo questioned the three major e-commerce platforms for disregarding Republic Act 11967 or the Internet Transaction Act, since most of the small appliances they sell don’t have Product Standard (PS) stickers, the proof that the item went through DTI’s safety inspection. Lazada claims it compels its merchants to submit the necessary requirements.
“With regard to cross border appliances, we do not abet and carry out illegal sales. We require their registration and ask for BIR registration, business information and all of those things,” said Lazada Government Affairs Head Kenneth Estiller.
Biron said online platforms should self police but they don’t do their job in ensuring that what is being sold complies with government regulations.”Kasi kung doon palang sa level ninyo nagse-self regulate na kayo, hindi na tayo magkaproblema ngayon,” he noted.
He claimed that their merchants are not giving back to the government in the form of taxes since they are only taxed when the products enter but they don’t pay income tax.
The local manufacturers claimed there are merchants selling rice cookers, air cleaners and other items supposedly as big brand but turn out to be fake since the major companies don’t carry them. Their prices are lower than their acquisition.