House OKs e-commerce bureau bill

MANILA, Philippines — To “better protect” consumers and merchants engaged in online transactions, the House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill proposing the creation of an “Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) Bureau.”

House Bill 4 or the proposed “Internet Transactions Act” is one of the priority bills of the Marcos administration identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.

The bill is aimed at promoting and maintaining a “robust e-commerce environment in the country through secure and reliable platforms, where transactions have appropriate transparency and utmost efficiency.”

It was authored principally by Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos and Tingog party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Jude Acidre.

It seeks to address the “need to establish a singular office” that will be responsible to carry out the proposed law and serve as the focal point in the monitoring and implementation of the Philippine E-commerce Roadmap.

“Undeniably, technology has revolutionized our conventional way of buying and selling in ways unimaginable to those that have come before us,” the bill’s explanatory note stated.

The measure is intended to promote “an environment founded on trust among consumers and merchants as a means to increase the number of e-commerce participants and ultimately achieve sustainable growth.” – Delon Porcalla