ASEAN Strengthens Competencies in Consumer Protection Measures

ASEAN Strengthens Competencies 

in Consumer Protection Measures

ASEAN

Manila, PHILIPPINES 

Wednesday, 7th October 2015 

The Second Train-the-Trainer Workshop to Strengthen Technical Competency on Consumer Protection in ASEAN was convened on 5-7 October in Manila, the Philippines. This workshop aimed to strengthen the capacity of government officers to develop and deliver training programs focusing on the technical requirements in three key areas, namely product safety and labeling; phone, internet and e-commerce; and healthcare services. The First Train-the-Trainer Workshop, which covered the areas of consumer credit and banking, environment, and professional services, took place in Ha Noi, Viet Nam on 31 August – 2 September.

Following a comprehensive assessment of the needs and priorities in six ASEAN Member States (AMS), the project consultants lead by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that there is an overall need to strengthen the internal capacity in AMS including a thorough understanding of the national laws and procedures, as well as the need to resolve consumer issues through mediation, arbitration and the design of appropriate remedies and sanctions. The assessment was a follow-up from the “Roadmapping Capacity Building Needs in Consumer Protection in ASEAN” report conducted in 2011 which highlighted the human and institutional capacity gaps and recommendations for consumer protection agencies in AMS.

Atty Victorio Mario A Dimagiba, Undersecretary of the Consumer Protection Group, Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines, delivered the opening remarks and encouraged participants to absorb the learning, information, concepts and strategies delivered throughout the three-day Workshop in order to enhance the enforcement and complaints-handling mechanisms of consumer protection. At the same time, he emphasised the importance of ensuring the utilization of the modules and concepts at the national level.

The three breakout sessions focused on each of the three core areas, and deliberated on the existing legal framework, consumer protection specific issues, pre and post market interventions and the redress mechanisms to be enacted. A brief country report was also presented by Member States based on a set of guiding questions that were drawn for each key area.

The product safety and labeling module covers elements such as the mandatory specific safety standards, product liability, and private law regimes, as well as the various government intervention measures starting with product surveillance to issuing bans and undertaking product recalls. The phone, internet services and ecommerce module touches on among others misleading conduct, unfair contract terms and cross-border purchases, as well as the strategies to resolve these issues. The healthcare services module focuses on addressing the issues concerning the availability, affordability and accessibility of healthcare goods and services.

The participants recognised the importance of ensuring the utilization of the modules and agreed to explore several avenues including translating the modules into local languages, delivering local seminars/ workshop, and developing training programs catered to the needs of their respective agencies/ ministries by using the modules as a basis. 

The Workshop was supported by the ASEAN Australian Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II) and facilitated by the ASEAN Secretariat, UNCTAD and consultants. Further information on ASEAN consumer protection initiatives may be found on the ASEAN.