Groups, Mothers File Petition for Writ of Mandamus to Enforce Toy and Game Safety Labeling Law
After their repeated demands for the promulgation of the
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 10620, or the Toy and
Game Safety Labeling Act, went unheeded, consumer protection and environmental
health groups finally went to the court to compel the concerned agencies to
act.
The EcoWaste Coalition and Laban Konsyumer Inc., joined
by 20 mothers as petitioners, today filed a petition for writ of mandamus at
the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to direct the Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) and the Department of Health (DOH) to immediately issue the IRR
of RA 10620.
The filing coincided with the national observance of the
Consumer Welfare Month this October, and the International Lead Poisoning
Prevention Week on October 21 to 27. The
latter seeks to promote awareness and action to protect children from being
exposed to health-damaging lead in paints, toys and other sources.
RA 10620 was enacted by the 15th Congress and signed into
law by former President Benigno S. Aquino III on September 3, 2013. Section 12 of the said law mandates the DTI,
in consultation with the DOH, to promulgate its corresponding IRR.
Petitioner Rene Pineda of the EcoWaste Coalition lamented
that “the inexcusable five-year delay in the issuance of the IRR has unjustly
deprived consumers, particularly parents and their children, access to vital
product labeling information that can help in making informed purchasing
decision and prevent hasty purchases of unsafe and unsuitable toys.”
"The long and unwanted inaction by the regulators show open bias in
favor of the toys and games industry," commented Atty. Vic Dimagiba,
President, Laban Konsyumer, Inc.
Atty. Gregorio Rafael Bueta, counsel for the petitioners,
stated that “five years to issue an IRR is unacceptable and is even unheard
of,” emphasizing further that the petition is meant “to aid in the enforcement
of RA 10620, to promote the legislature’s will, and strengthen toy safety
regulation for the best interest of children.”
The mothers who came from EcoWaste Coalition’s member
groups in Quezon City endorsed the petition as the dissemination of the IRR and
its strict enforcement will address a persistent problem with unregistered toys
proliferating in the market.
“Napapanahon na pairalin na ang batas na ito upang kaming
mga nanay ay magabayan sa tamang pagpili ng laruan na hindi maglalagay sa aming
mga anak at apo sa kapahamakan,” said Evelyn Galang,a 66-year old grandmother
of six.
According to the petition, a first draft of the IRR was submitted for
public consultation in April 2014, in which the EcoWaste Coalition participated
and submitted comments. In May 2014, the Technical Working Group met to discuss
the comments received from the said consultation and made amendments to the
draft IRR.
However, from the 27 May 2014 meeting of the TWG up until
the filing of this petition, no IRR has been issued.
The EcoWaste Coalition and Laban Konsyumer, Inc. have on
several occasions written to both the DOH and the DTI to push for the
promulgation of the IRR. The groups have
likewise aired their demands through the media to encourage the respondents to
act.
-end-
Reference:
https://www.lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2013/ra_10620_2013.html
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