Senate approves Philippine Lemon Law of 2014

The Senate has approved the SBN 2211 or the Philippine Lemon Law of 2014 which aims to strengthen consumer protection in the purchase of brand new motor vehicles.

SBN 2211 or the Lemon Law, “seeks to protect consumers in the sale of motor vehicles against sales and trade practices that are deceptive, unfair or otherwise inimical to the consumers and the public interest.”

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Under the bill, vehicles will have a warranty of “12 months from the date of the original delivery to the consumer or up to 20,000 kilometers of operation after delivery, whichever comes first.”

“Penalty for a manufacturer, distributor or dealer who violates the prohibition on resale disclosure shall be liable to pay a minimum amount of P100,000 as damages to the aggrieved party without prejudice to any civil or criminal liability they and/or the responsible officer may incur under existing laws,” said Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

Lemon Law is derived from the western idiom wherein “buying lemon” refers to the purchase of a vehicle that constantly gives problems or a substandard product.

{sources: 1, 2}

Diangson Louie

This article was written by Louie Diangson, Managing Editor of YugaTech. You can follow him at @John_Louie.

https://www.yugatech.com

17 Comments

regohn says:

11 years ago

Dapat applicable din ito sa lahat ng electronic consumer products
Marami ngyn mga elextronic devices na sub standard ang quality. ilan beses bumabalik sa servuce center tapos ilang buwan bago isali ayaw naman palitan kesyo nasa warranty agreement daw repair lng ang unit at di replacement.. perfect example are the cellphones. imagine mo ang hassle sa pabalik balik mo sa shop ng nagbenta at pagkatagal tagal na antay para marepair eh ang mahal n nga mg bili mo ganun pa ang experience. hindi yata tama yun.
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lolwut says:

11 years ago

I completely agree na hindi lang dapat sa automobiles to applicable. In my opinion, it should be for every single item purchases above 1k pesos. Just imagine a 1k worth of item sold to you broken or has factory damage when bought. 1k is already 2 days worth of minimum wage so it’s not a small thing.

If you work in the call center industry, you will know that the US and most western countries has this set up in law. Filipinos are being screwed by retailers because the lack of this law here to protect the consumers.
Ronald says:

11 years ago

I agree. Dapat kasama ang Electronic Consumer products dahil mas marami ang bumibili nito kesa sa mga motor vehicles. Hindi biro ang mga 1K+ items then after 3 days ayaw na mag-work.

ukin inau says:

11 years ago

Di mangyari nian magwawala ang mga lemon cars na pinangungunahan ng bulok na isuzu at mitsubishi. Sus dadaanin ulit iyan sa lagay para magtagal.
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Rainbow Rat says:

11 years ago

I agree that this should be applicable to all consumer products. It is time for us to be more demanding since we are always paying premium for the services/products we avail. Ang layo ng Customer Service ng ibang bansa kaysa sa atin dito sa Pilipinas. I think na kasalanan din natin na consumers, which is another “Filipinism”, that we tend to be more forgiving compared to other people. Most of the time, we do not want to take it to the next level and contented with the current standards. This is a good start from the Government. All we need to do, as Consumers, is to be more responsible and demanding with our rights para magadjust din ang mga manufacturers and service providers.
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Gadgeteer says:

11 years ago

Good to hear about this, I was a victim of Mazda philippines before, we ended up selling the familia car just to alleviate our hate, in case you are wondering, what is wrong with the car-kumakabig sa kanan pag accelerate, hindi makuha sa alignment kahit pabalik balik na, then it was left in the casa for 1 whole month para pag aralan at maayos nila- problem was not solved either!
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Grabe says:

11 years ago

Binenta nyo sir ng sira? Kawawa naman ung buyer kung ganon…
say what says:

11 years ago

you didn’t mention enough info about the car,

possible causes will include:
1. mis-aligned chassis or body work
2. failed gearbox, differential prob
3. malfunction on:
a. abs
b. steering assembly

why didn’t you demand for a brand new replacement ?

have you checked with the new owner?
baka na solve nila ang problem
kaya lang kahit sa kasa di eh

Adam_Rose says:

11 years ago

“Dont be a lemon, be a rosebud”
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batman says:

11 years ago

this should be called “Kalamansi Law”…
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pong says:

11 years ago

Dapat applicable to all products since magkaka ASEAN integration, para fair yan sa mga local manufacturers. Di porke China galing no warranty
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Hen-Sheen says:

11 years ago

The planet is full of Lemons. Lemons? Unfortunately, it’s not an Orange that came from another dimension and dropping towards an unsuspecting victim….. How about the entire fruits basket or make Lemonade? GM and Toyota are not making a good impression these days; whether I buy any of their vehicles, I end up in a body bag! For them to recover, the one thing that they must do and this is the holy word that will allow them to rethink is QUALITY. The QA should be doing their jobs; Deadline? I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THAT DEADLINE! Quantity is good, but without Quality, everything goes wrong. Hangover? Those QA guys must have been partying a lot and it’s for a lost cause…….
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buraot says:

11 years ago

Walang kwenta tong batas na to dahil hindi nman lahat ng pilipino kayang bumili ng sasakyan lalo na ung brand new. Ugok ka bam gumawa ka ng batas ung pati mahihirap mkakabili ng matinong sasakyan hndi ung myayaman lang.
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Daenaerys says:

11 years ago

Hindi naman dahil sa hindi lahat ng tao ay kayang bumili ng sasakyan, kailangan wala nang batas para sa mga bumibili ng big ticket items. Paano kung yung kotse or van ay gagamitin para sa negosyo–taxi, FX for hire–kung walang tamang coverage against defects ang bibilhin mo, mahihirapan ka na ipaayos ang sasakyan at pati yung mga pasahero, pwede mapeligro.

People work for the stuff that they are buying, and they deserve some form of warranty that the items they purchase are in good condition, kahit na mumurahin na Mitsubishi or Toyota lang yan or mamahalin na SUV, at the very least, cars should meet safety requirements or deliver on their promise to the customer.
wew says:

11 years ago

nakakatanga logic mo @buraot. anu un dapat lahat ng policies eh in favor/ang magbebenefit ay ang mga mahihirap lang? nagbabayad din ng tax ang mga mayayaman,fyi.

Ronald says:

11 years ago

Baka naman kasi tayo ang mga guinea pig ng mga yan. Sa atin dadalhin ung mga experimental products then titingnan nila kung ano ang mga naging defects then i-improve nila then pag maganda at reliable na ire-rebrand then ibebenta ng mas mahal at ibebenta sa ibang bansa.
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high pressure says:

10 years ago

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information.
- Reply