The Department of Trade and Industry’s Consumer Protection Group (DTI-CPG) joins other member organizations of the Consumers International (CI) from different countries in the celebration of the World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) on 15 March 2017.
The Consumer Protection and Advocacy Bureau (CPAB), under the DTI-CPG, in coordination with the Consumers International (CI), holds a half-day Consumer Forum on 15 March, from 1:00PM to 5:00PM at the Robinsons Galleria Activity Area in commemoration of the WCRD.
The WCRD is an annual occasion which marks the day when the late US President John F. Kennedy formally addressed the issue of consumer rights on 15 March 1962 at the US Congress. It provides an opportunity to raise global awareness about consumer rights which must be protected and respected at all times.
This year’s celebration theme is “Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust”, which pushes for better digital access, security, understanding and redress.
The forum topics include E-Commerce Business Ethics and Trends in Online Shopping, Tips to Avoid Online Shopping Fraud and Scam and Promotion and Development of E- Commerce in the Philippines.
The keynote message will be delivered by DTI-CPG Undersecretary Atty. Teodoro C. Pascua, while the forum speakers are Director Mark Joseph Panganiban of the Digital Commerce Association of the Philippines (DCOM), Inc.; Supervising Agent Martini Cruz of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Division Chief Maria Crispina S. Reodica of the DTI-E-Commerce Office.
The DTI-CPAB has invited participants from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), consumers, academe, youth, DTI employees, LGU and other government agencies to attend the event.
Undersecretary Pascua asserts, “Through the Forum, the Department aims to create and promote a reliable digital economy that consumers can depend on without having to worry about their safety and security”.
“Aside from prioritizing the rights of the consumers, the DTI-CPG particularly identifies the Filipino students, as millennials, to actively participate in the advocacy program for consumers to understand their rights and to exercise them”, Undersecretary Pascua adds.
The Department intends to educate students on their privileges as consumers knowing that they are more likely to engage in many online transactions and be involved in e- commerce activities.
For the forum, the DTI-CPAB invited the contest winners of the “Tanghalang Pangmamimili” that was conducted by the DTI’s Regional Office of CALABARZON (Region-IVA) to show their winning performances.
The Tanghalang Pangmamimili is a competition among CALABARZON students that happens every October in celebration of the Consumer Welfare Month. It is a stage play wherein students perform situations that consumers face concerning their rights and responsibilities.
In line with this, the DTI-CPAB will formally launch its “Dulaang Mamimili”, a nationwide contest in order to influence the youth, especially students, to become more aware of their rights and responsibilities and use them.
For more information on the WCRD celebration, call DTI Direct 751.3330 or send an email message to cpab@dti.gov.ph or cpg@dti.gov.ph. (Angeline Pauline C. Gonzalez)
