REUTERS

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI), through its Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB), issued an order last week to stop the manufacturing, sale, and distribution of Flava vapor products or vapes.

“Citing Executive Order No. 913 and Department Order No. 07, Series of 2006, the FTEB’s Adjudication Division issued a preliminary order halting the trade of Flava Corp.’s vape products,” the DTI said in a statement on Monday.

“The order aims to preserve the integrity of the subject products and to prevent the continuance of the acts complained of,” it added.

In a preliminary order dated March 15, the DTI said that a formal charge was filed stating that Flava has violated provisions of Republic Act 11900, the Vape Law, particularly on communication restrictions that include the use of flavor descriptors and celebrities.

“The DTI will not shirk from its responsibility of enforcing trade, industry, and consumer protection laws to help legitimate businesses and promote consumer protection,” said Trade Chief Alfredo E. Pascual.

“This order serves as a strong warning to manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers to not engage in illegal acts of trading illicit vapes and other violative products,” he added.

FTEB’s Prosecution Unit has also filed a formal charge against Flava and co-respondent Lilac Vape Ship for the alleged use of celebrities in social media posts during a product launch in December 2023.

“Additionally, the new product line was found to use flavor descriptors that violate the law, such as taro ice cream, melon lychee, watermelon, iced chocolate, gummy bears, and bubblegum,” the department said.

On March 5, the House Committee on Ways and Means reported that the Bureau of Customs (BoC) discovered billions of pesos worth of Flava products stored in a Valenzuela warehouse that were illegally imported and without proper tax payment.

Following the report, law enforcement agencies have conducted multiple raids against illicit vapes in the past two weeks, wherein one major bust resulted in the confiscation of P65 million worth of smuggled vapes.

In a separate operation, the BoC conducted a two-day raid in Malabon and Parañaque, wherein around P4.6 billion worth of vape products were confiscated.

COMPLAINTS AND BUSINESS PERMITS
Meanwhile, the FTEB reported that it received 28,824 complaints in 2023, 31% of which were mediated and adjudicated, while 69% were endorsed to concerned government agencies.

Most of the complaints were on deceptive or unfair sales acts, followed by complaints on product and service liability, and then fraudulent sales promotion. Around 42% of the complaints were related to online transactions.

“In an era where digital transformation reshapes industries, the DTI continues to ensure fair and impartial adjudication, upholding the principles of due process and procedural fairness,” Mr. Pascual said.

The FTEB also reported that it processed 40,273 DTI permits, licenses, and accreditation applications last year. These were sales promotion permits (66%), certificates of authority to import and accreditation (30%), and business licensing and accreditation-related licenses and certificates (4%).

Of the total, 38,769 accounted for new business transactions, while 1,504 were renewal applications.

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