I am not sure if the consumer welfare acts and other consumer protection laws are practiced or given importance in our country today. Did the government really imposed all the laws made for the protection of the consumers or the Republic Act No. 7394, also known as the Consumer Act of the Philippines? Or any other law or Republic Acts made that will help protect the rights of the consumer?

Republic Act No. 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, was enacted to protect the interests of the consumer from trade malpractices and from substandard or hazardous practices, promote his general welfare and to establish standards of conduct for business and industry.

The Act mandates the Government to:

1. Develop and provide safety and quality standard for consumer products, including performance or use-oriented standards codes of practice and testing methods

2. Assist the consumer in evaluating the quality of consumer products, including safety, performance and comparative utility

3. Protect the public against unreasonable risks to injury associated with consumer products

4. Undertake research on quality improvement of products and investigation into causes and prevention of product related deaths, illness and injuries

Implementing agencies are the Department of Health (for food, drugs, cosmetics, devices and substances), the Department of Agriculture (for products related to agriculture) and the Department of Trade and Industry (for other consumer products not specified above). The concerned department shall then establish or adopt existing government consumer product quality and safety standards.

The Act also mandated the creation of a National Consumer Affairs Council, referred to as the “Council”, to improve the management, coordination and effectiveness of consumer programs. The Council is composed of specific government and non-government agencies and representatives from consumer organizations and the business/industry sector.

Are we protected by this law? I am asking this because as a consumer I am experiencing bad service from my internet provider this is just one simple consumer problem that I am sure likely being experienced by others for all I know. Let me narrate to you the problem.

Since May 2, 2008 I already experienced intermittent internet connection. This was the reason why I called up my ISP (Internet Service Provider) hotline to report the problem I have been experiencing. Whenever I’d call up, the automated answering machine will answer and remind me that the problem will be attended to within 24 hours and you get to hear some advertisements that their costumers are so important to them and that they really keep their promise.

But to tell you frankly, since I have been tied to their service for more than 6 months already, I have made several complaints and if I were to number my complaints from intermittent connection among other service-related issues, they’re almost 20 times and yet I only experienced the so called 24hour visit only once —- the shortest two days and the longest is five days.

Going back to my May 2, 2008 connection problem, they have never fixed the problem until now. I still experience the intermittent internet connection that sometimes lasts for a whole day. Until last Thursday May 22, 2008 the problem got worse because I didn’t have connection anymore.

And then I found out that there‘s a warning sign “Limited or no connectivity”appeared, means according to them, that the problem was in the modem or in my land card. So I made a call and complaint and requested to have someone from their team visit my house and do technical onsite visit to check the problem.

After that complaint, I also made another follow up call and emphasized to them my need for onsite visit. But according to them they will fix the line problem first before they will visit me. But I emphasized to them to check the modem first because the line problem is already the given problem.If I will have to wait for that problem to get fixed, maybe it will take a year for me to wait.

They said they understand and made the report that they will be checking on the modem. it’s been two days after my complaint and until now, nobody showed up or even make a call from their technical group to inform or update me about the problem. So I made a follow up call to check the status of my request. But the technical person who attended my call made the same reason again that they will finish the line problem first. So I made it clear again that I already made a request to have my modem checked first before.

I made more than 20 follow- ups call and yet they will answer me the same reason they have made from my first call. Its been 5 days now I never saw any shadow from their technical group and they don’t have consistent reason why until now they have not done any visit.

I could not let my ISP discontinue off since I have one year lock up period. I am forced to pay disconnection pay if I have it discontinue.

I even told them that I am earning money online and if I don’t have internet connection I don’t have any earning, I cannot even go out and check emails in some internet caffe because of waiting and maybe will missed the onsite visit if I am not home. I am still hoping that this problem will end soon. I am calling to DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) NTC (National Telecommunication Commission) to check this big company about this problem not only this kind of problem but all consumer problems I have experienced with this company. As I know they have created Consumer Welfare desk for the consumer to turn to in order to establish procedures to systematically and appropriately address consumer complaints.

But with those long and complicated procedures they made, the consumers may have lost its appetite to or to submit formal complaints. Hope DTI can make it easier — maybe in a form of telephone complaint hotline desk — so that there will be earlier conduction of investigation and problem resolution done and possible penalty must be imposed so. And eventually, the true service and consumer welfare and protection will be upheld.