DTI: Online registration of business names, consumer complaints surged during quarantine period

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez on Thursday said there was a "substantial increase" in the number of businesses that registered their names through the agency's online platform during the community quarantine period.

During a Senate hearing for the proposed Internet Transactions Act, Lopez said only 1,753 businesses have engaged in DTI's online process from January 1 to March 15, 2020 but a significant increase was seen the following months when mobility was restricted.

"From the start of the community quarantine period from March 16 to August 31 this year, a total of 73,276 have registered. This is over 4,000 percent increase," he said.

He said this purely online registration for proprietorship under the DTI employs e-payment and takes only eight minutes to accomplish.

Lopez said other government agencies are also digitizing their processes to ensure that all steps of business registration would no longer require physical appearance.

"It's a work in progress, I'm confident to say maybe just give us, maybe within the next 12 months, hopefully online na 'yan end to end," he said.

Surge in complaints 

Along with the huge jump on business name registration, Lopez said the consumer complaints involving online transactions also increased from 2,457 in 2019 to 12,630 this year as of August 31.

"The quadruple increase of this is attributed to the surge of online transactions due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

He added that the highest number of complaints involving online transactions, around 8,000, occured during April and May.

The Senate Committees on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship, and Ways and Means is tackling a bill seeking to ensure a safe e-commerce environment in the Philippines. -MDM, GMA News