DTI gears up for Consumer Welfare Month 2022

With only a few days until October, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its Consumer Protection Group (CPG), has planned activities for the month-long celebration of Consumer Welfare Month (CWM).

The DTI will carry the theme, Sustainable Consumerism in the Digital Age with the goal of increasing advocacy for sustainability and encouraging a mindful shift in consumption, particularly when it comes to purchasing goods and services online.

“We launched our campaign on sustainable consumption and production in 2018, and since then we have been encouraging everyone to take an active role in environmental protection. As we celebrate the CWM, the DTI invites the public to join the DTI and other agencies in strengthening the promotion on sustainability.” says DTI Consumer Protection Group Undersecretary, Atty. Ruth B. Castelo.

One of our basic rights as consumers is the right to live and work in an environment that is neither threatening nor dangerous. At the same time, we have a responsibility to understand the environmental implications of our consumption. Hence, in order to have access to a healthy environment, we must be good stewards of sustainability and be mindful of our decisions and consumption behaviors as they impact the environment.

A month-long celebration of activities will be conducted nationwide through the DTI’s Consumer Protection and Regional Operations Groups. To kick-off the 2022 national CWM celebration, the annual Virtual Consumer Zumba will be held in the morning of 03 October 2022. Throughout the month, affordable and quality manufactured goods and crafts will be made available in the DTI’s Diskwento Caravan and Presyong Risonable Dapat Program in collaboration with local government units and manufacturers of basic necessities and prime commodities, Noche Buena products, and sustainable products.

There are also contests for the consumer youth to be educated on their rights and responsibilities as sustainable and digital consumers such as the Consumer Digital Artwork Contest, Assertive Consumer Be Like, and Consumer Quiz Bee.

During the CWM, the DTI also observes the National Standards Week (08-14 October 2022), in time for the World Standards Day on 14 October 2022. The BPS Testing Laboratory will be open for a tour to consumers. The standards users will be assembled in the Standards Stakeholders’ Conference on 14 October 2022.

To culminate the 2022 CWM celebration, the CPG conducts the Consumer Congress on 21 October 2022, an annual congregation of the private and public sectors on the developments on consumer protection policies, programs, partnerships, and advocacies. 

The CPG is the lead DTI group on consumer welfare composed of the Offices of the Undersecretary and Assistant Secretary, the Bureau of the Philippine Standards (BPS), the Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB), and the Consumer Policy and Advocacy Bureau (CPAB).

CPAB Director Atty. Marcus N. Valdez, II, underscores, “The Department encourages the general public to take an active part in the CWM celebration this year to be more responsible as consumers”.

Meanwhile, the DTI recently launched its DTI-1384 short messaging service (SMS) blast service to keep the consumers informed on announcements, advisories, news, and tips, even when they are on the go and wherever they may be.

Consumers will receive text messages from DTI-1384 as the DTI-Consumer Protection Group’s sole sender ID. The setup is similar to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council’s one-way communication service.

The DTI invites the general public to subscribe by texting “SUBSCRIBE 1-384” to 09603544154 (for Smart and TNT users) or 09669784816/09191602303 (for other Telco users) or through this https://tinyurl.com/DTI-1384Subscription.   For more information about the 2022 CWM activities, visit the DTI Consumer Care and Konsyumer Atbp (KATBP) Facebook pages or send an email to CPAB@dti.gov.ph