Use political will to curb substandard products
Political will alone is enough to significantly reduce the substandard products proliferating today. This can be done even without new laws or additional budget. On Oct. 6, this was the position taken by a panel composed of leaders from agriculture, industry and academe.
This panel, led by the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) and Alyansa Agrikultura, spoke on this issue during the Quezon City Journalists Forum. Moderated by Angie de la Cruz, among its speakers were Astro del Castillo from the University of the Philippines, Jesus Arranza from the FPI and Joel Ronquillo from the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (Pisi).
Sharing their own problems and recommendations about substandard products during the open forum were leaders from different sectors, such as steel and angle bars, liquefied petroleum gas and batteries.
Three initiatives recommended by the private sector and previously approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have not been implemented because of weak political will.
If these three initiatives were implemented, significant benefits will occur. First, consumer welfare will be protected, with better quality products and public safety. Second, industry development will be enhanced, with producers competing in a level playing field. Cheaper defective products will not take away their market shares, which result in revenue, job and investment losses.
These initiatives involve government response, manufacturer apprehensions and court independence.
Government response
The DTI’s report on its monitoring of substandard steel bars showed a violation rate of 5 percent. The Pisi report showed very different rates: 52 percent in 2024, 54 percent in 2025 and 70 percent in 2026.
When Pisi reported these violations to the DTI, the expected enforcement action was not done. For example, Pisi has annually reported to DTI violations of Philippine Sangia Steel Corp. since 2023. But it was raided only on May 15 by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine Anti-Organized Crime Commission.
Furthermore, violation reports submitted by the private sector are not given information on the penalties, if any, resulting from their reports. These penalties should instead be reported for transparency, accountability and effectiveness.
Out of more than 150 retailer violations identified from January to May, only one manufacturer was implicated. This is analogous to an octopus, where the tentacles (retailers) are penalized, but the head (manufacturer) gets away scot free to continue its substandard activities.
Manufacturers
A DTI official said that receipts are required to connect the erring retailers to the appropriate manufacturer so that the manufacturer can be charged. However, every product has a brand or logo that identifies its manufacturer. Under the law, Republic Act No. 4109 and Department Administrative Order No. 02, Series of 2022, the DTI is empowered to inspect factories even without receipts.
There is no analysis of the “repeat offender” manufacturers whose products have been proven as substandard. These manufacturers should be inspected during the DTI’s regular and random monitoring. If found violating standards, they should be charged immediately and their production stopped.
Courts
In several cases, penalties on guilty substandard operators were not imposed because of temporary restraining orders (TROs) issued by the courts. But just as the Supreme Court has earlier ruled against lower courts overturning penalties for violation of environment laws, the FPI submitted last April 17 a petition that the same ruling should apply to substandard violations.
When the Supreme Court asked the DTI for its position, the DTI took a neutral stance and left the decision to the judgment of the Supreme Court. This was not the position that a senior DTI official had earlier given the private sector.
The DTI must now take a stronger position on this issue. The Supreme Court should also rule on this petition soon. This way, lower courts will stop issuing TROs that allow substandard products to proliferate.
Next Steps
These three initiatives had earlier been approved by DTI officials. But they were not implemented because weak political will was overcome by other forces outside and inside the DTI.
At the forum, it was suggested that those responsible for the initiative’s reversals should be identified and treated accordingly, with the appropriate penalties.
At the end of the next six weeks, a report will be given on whether strong political will was exercised in implementing these three initiatives. If not, the dangerous spiral of substandard goods will continue to harm consumer welfare and public safety, as well as derail the industry development we sorely need.
