Online sellers have until end of September to secure Trustmark certification — DTI

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has given online sellers until the end of September, 2025 to have their products checked and registered for the E-Commerce Philippine Trustmark, a seal that certifies that goods sold online have passed quality and safety checks.

According to Trade Secretary Maria Cristina Roque, the initiative — which seeks to give consumers guidance on which products are safe and made of quality — was started around a month ago, grounded in the policy principles of the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

“‘Pag ‘yung seller may Trustmark, kahit papaano, ‘yung consumers or ‘yung buyers, makakampante na siya na para ‘Ah, okay ‘yung product na ‘to, pumasa na sa check ng DTI.’ ‘Pag wala ho siyang Trustmark, then it’s up to the customers to decipher,” she said in an interview.

(If a seller has the Trustmark, consumers or buyers can feel assured that the product is okay and has passed the DTI’s checks. If they don’t have the Trustmark, then it’s up to the customers to decipher.)

Roque said the DTI has already spoken with e-commerce platforms to have their sellers registered, as the agency received a number of complaints that substandard products which have not undergone checks are being sold.

“It's to at least protect the buyers from the products that are being sold online, in the e-commerce platform na kahit papano, na-check ito ng DTI (so that in some way, these are checked by the DTI),” she said.

“Actually, lahat ng products dapat na binebenta sa  (all products sold in) e-commerce platform should pass through the DTI, that’s why diba kung minsan may mga (sometimes there are) substandard appliances, nakakalusot sila (they manage to slip through),” she added. — RF, GMA Integrated News