DTI receives 28K complaints in 2023
Photograph courtesy of Zyler Zyler wins the Grosvenor Social Shopping Experience Challenge for virtual try-on patent.
Daily TribunePhotograph courtesy of Zyler Zyler wins the Grosvenor Social Shopping Experience Challenge for virtual try-on patent.
More than 28,000 complaints were received by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2023, 31 percent of which were mediated and adjudicated.
In a statement by the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau of the DTI, it said that they continue to provide fair and efficient redress to consumers in adherence to Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 13-02, Series of 2013, the resolution of complaints within the jurisdiction of the DTI.
Further, they said that the FTEB received a total of 28,824 complaints in 2023, 8,937 (31 percent) of which were mediated and adjudicated, while 19,887 (69%) were endorsed to other concerned government agencies consistent with the “No Wrong Door” policy.
Furthermore, among the complaints received, 42 percent were related to online transactions.
Most complaints involved deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales acts and practices, followed by complaints on products and services liability, and misleading or fraudulent sales promotion.
“In an era where digital transformation reshapes industries, the DTI continues to ensure fair and impartial adjudication, upholding the principles of due process and procedural fairness,” Secretary Fred Pascual emphasized.
Meanwhile, FTEB also reported that it has achieved zero backlogs and processed a total of 40,273 DTI permits, licenses, and accreditation applications in 2023.
Of the total applications processed, 26,539 (66 percent) were Sales Promotion Permits, 11,903 (30 percent) were Certificates of Authority to Import and Accreditation, and 1,831 (4 percent) were Business Licensing and Accreditation-related licenses and certificates.
Meanwhile, 38,769 were applications from new business transactions while 1,504 were renewal applications.
The DTI attributed the efficient, effective, and client-friendly government processes to digitization efforts.
Particularly, the implementation of DTI’s Integrated Registration Information System or IRegIS resulted in a 95.52 percent overall satisfaction rating for the frontline services related to business regulations transactions.