MANILA, Philippines — Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday called for the strengthening of safeguards against those selling fake items in online businesses as more Filipinos turn to online transactions amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The senator raised his concern as he claimed there is a “lack of liability in the country’s laws on fake products.”
“Definitely, we have to find a solution to minimize or totally eliminate the exposure of these counterfeit items in our market and ensure that our consumers will not buy those items,” Gatchalian said in a statement.
“This is where the challenge comes in and this is where the problem lies. Anyone can sell and anyone can buy but do we have enough safeguards to prevent counterfeit items from coming to the Philippine market?” the senator added.
Gatchalian authored the Internet Transactions Act or Senate Bill 1591 which seeks to protect consumers from illegal acts in the online market.