SEN. Bam Aquino is asking the DTI to review and reconsider the mandatory ‘Trustmark’ requirement for online traders, calling it an unnecessary burden on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The Philippine Trustmark is a digital badge that serves as government recognition for online merchants and platforms that commit to trustworthiness, safety, and fair e-commerce practices.
Under its Department Administrative Order (DAO) 25-12, the DTI has given them until December 31 to comply with the Trustmark requirement.
‘We call on the DTI to revisit the requirement for online businesses to have a Trustmark. Let’s not give them an additional burden and let them thrive instead,’ Aquino said in Filipino, warning that the policy may discourage MSMEs from bringing their businesses online to digital marketplaces and other platforms.
Sought for reaction, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is set to release an updated set of rules regarding Trustmark.
‘We are finalizing a Department Administrative Order that will formalize how we addressed the concerns. We received the comments to the DAO last October 3, and we hope to release the final DAO within the week,’ Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque told the BusinessMirror in a Viber message on Monday.
She added: ‘Rest assured that the policy is conducive to elevating the business practices of micro and small enterprises without compromising on protecting our consumers against online scams and frauds.’
‘Contradicts’ existing laws
Aside from imposing an added burden on MSMEs, Aquino said DAO 25-12 ‘contradicts’ existing laws, such as the Internet Transactions Act and Ease of Doing Business Act.
DTI’s Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 25-12 explained that the Trustmark shall be the ‘permit for e-marketplaces, online merchants, e-retailers, digital platforms, and third-party platforms to use the internet for conducting e-commerce.’
‘Issuance of the Trustmark shall signify that the products, goods, or services sold online by the holder comply with applicable standards and good e-commerce practices,’ the Order also noted.
It is worth noting that DAO No. 25-12 made the registration for the digital badge mandatory. Under the previously issued DAO No. 25-07, application for the Trustmark was only voluntary.
Roque earlier explained that the growing number of consumer complaints prompted the Trade department to make the registration for the digital badge mandatory.
‘The complaints are actually growing, so we need to establish certain rules to at least control, or at least minimize the selling of substandard products in the E-commerce platform,’ the Trade chief noted.
Last month, DTI announced it is extending the deadline of application for the Trustmark digital badge for online merchants until December 31,2025.
‘Indicatively, it’s going to be up to the end of the year so we can better explain, better campaign and better promote natin why this is mandatory,’ Eryl Royce R. Nagtalon, Officer-in-Charge for DTI’s E-Commerce Bureau told reporters on the sidelines of the media briefing for Trustmark compliance on Friday in Makati City.
An earlier story published by the BusinessMirror noted that more than 12,000 online merchants have sought the government’s e-commerce Trustmark, but only 300 have so far been granted the seal.
Aquimo clarified that he does not object to efforts to boost consumer protection, but such effort must be according to law and existing policy.
Aquino likewise flagged the annual P1,130 Trustmark registration fee, which comes on top of existing business registration costs and further strains MSMEs, particularly those just starting out.
‘What this amounts to a a form of tax that online traders must pay yearly. This is not timely, especially now that people are concerned about anomalies in the use of taxpayer money,’ he added, partly in Filipino.
If the government really wants to help online MSMEs thrive, Aquino said the DTI should integrate the Trustmark into the business registration or renewal process and make it free of charge to ease their financial burden and encourage more entrepreneurs to go digital.
Aquino was the author and principal sponsor of the Go Negosyo Act (Republic Act 10644) during his tenure as chairperson of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship.
The law provides MSMEs greater access to markets and financing, offers training and capacity-building programs, and simplifies the business registration process for entrepreneurs starting or expanding their ventures.