The Department of Trade and Industry-Consumer Protection Group (CPG), through its Consumer Policy and Advocacy Bureau, begins the pilot run of the Philippine Online Dispute Resolution System (PODRS) to start-up the country’s improved online system to receive and resolve consumer complaints.
The CPG enforces laws to protect, educate and assemble consumers and consumer groups. Based on its records on complaints, the CPG has seen a significant rise in consumer complaints due to the sudden increase in online shopping because of the circumstances brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
With this, the CPG proposed the implementation of the PODRS. On Sept. 15, 2020, the DTI issued Department Administrative Order 20-05, s. 2020 with the purpose of developing and establishing an integrated online system by which all consumer complaints are received, docketed, transmitted, and resolved, providing network facility and limits of disclosure of data to maintain integrity and credibility of the system.
The PODRS shall be piloted in DTI and eventually shall serve as the web-based consumer complaints portal of the country. The PODRS will automate the entire consumer complaints-handling process of the government by interlinking all the member agencies of the consumer network, or the group of government departments with consumer protection function, to provide redress to consumers who will file a complaint through the system wherever they may be in the world. – Press release
