AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE HEARING. Senator Cynthia Villar, Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, listens to Sen. Ralph Recto as he questions representatives of the Department of Agriculture about the claims made by certain groups and agencies concerning the actual state of rice supply in the country. Senate President Franklin M. Drilon, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Grace Poe, Nancy Binay and JV Ejercito also attended the hearing.(MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Philippines’ Lemon Law has hurdled past both houses of Congress.
It only needs President Aquino’s signature before it becomes a law.
The Lemon Law seeks to protect buyers against defective, substandard vehicles.
Sponsored by Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship Chairman Sen. Paulo Benigno Aquino IV, 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.”
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,” Aquino said.
SBN 2211 is a consolidation of several proposed bills filed by Senators Cynthia Villar and Jinggoy Ejercito-Estrada. Senator Koko Pimentel IV is a co-author of the bill.
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. (MNS)