Overview

The Standards system in the Philippines is more government-driven than market-driven, although the government consults with industry/local stakeholders in formulating the Philippine National Standards (PNS).

The Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS), under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is the Philippines’ national standards body that develops, promulgates, implements, and promotes standardization activities in the Philippines. 

The BPS Standards Development Work Program specifies the standards under preparation and those recently adopted.

There are two types of standards classifications — voluntary and mandatory.  The BPS implements mandatory product certification schemes for certain products divided into three groups: mechanical/building and construction, electrical and electronics, chemical and other consumer products systems.  The BPS subjects these products under its list of PNS for mandatory certification to inspection and testing methods before distribution and sale in the Philippine market with the necessary Philippine Standard (PS) or Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) marks.  The BPS provides the Bureau of Customs (BOC) with a list of products under mandatory BPS product certification to guide incoming shipments.

The BPS has established 92 Technical Committees for various products and services, of which 54 are active. 

Technical committees are composed of academic experts, consumer groups, government agencies, trade, and industry professionals, testing institutions, and research institutions.  Experts included must be nominated by their respective organizations subject to approval by the BPS. 

Standards

The BPS maintains Technical Committees that develop standards and align the Philippine National Standards (PNS) to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards.

The BPS also collaborates with foreign standards development organizations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), and the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) in developing PNS, which is made possible through license agreements with these organizations.

The Philippines is a member of the ISO, which develops voluntary standards on quality, safety, and efficiency of products, services, and systems from technology to food safety, construction, agriculture, and healthcare.  Under the ISO, the BPS is a Participating Member (P Member) to 34 Technical Committees (TCs), 29 Sub-Committees (SCs), and an Observing Member (0-Member) to 67 TCs and 40 SCs.

Similarly, the BPS participates in the IEC, preparing and publishing voluntary standards for electrical, electronic, and related technologies.  Under the IEC, the BPS is a P-Member to 8 TCs and 4 SCs, and an O-Member to 10 TCs and 16 SCs.

Testing, Inspection and Certification

The BPS implements mandatory product certification schemes for 87 products and systems, including household appliances, consumer electronics, lighting and wiring devices, steel products, plastic pipes, ceramic products, cement, and other construction materials, chemical products, automotive-related products, and other consumer products.

All products under mandatory BPS regulation require test reports per what is required by the PNS. 

The tests are conducted by BPS or its recognized laboratories for electrical, electronic, chemical, mechanical, and consumer products to verify conformity to PNS requirements that support the Philippine Standard (PS) and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) product certification schemes.

This is the list of BPS-recognized testing laboratories - BPS S&C Portal (dti.gov.ph).

Products covered by the BPS Mandatory Product Certification Schemes, whether locally or internationally manufactured, must bear the PS Mark or ICC stickers before they can be distributed in the Philippines. 

Under the PS Certification Scheme based on the Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 4:2008, a manufacturer shall secure a license to use the Philippine Standard (PS) mark to show the consistent compliance of its product with the requirements of a specific PNS.  The BPS assesses a manufacturer’s production processes and products. 

Under the ICC Certification Scheme, according to the DTI DAO No. 5:2008, an importer shall acquire an ICC certificate to use the ICC sticker on imported products that demonstrate conformance to the requirements of an applicable PNS.  The BPS, through the DTI Regional and Provincial Offices, subjects import shipments to sampling and testing procedures and evaluation. 

DAO 05:2008 specifies that importers are offered four options for their applications to be processed, which include: (1) an application without a Product Test Report but with a Quality Management System (QMS) based on the ISO 9001:2000 and its future amendments; (2) an application with a Product Test Report and with a QMS based on the ISO 9001:2000 and its future amendments; (3) an application without a Product Test Report and a QMS; and (4) an application with the Philippine Standard (PS) license from a foreign supplier.

Publication of Technical Regulations

The BPS maintains a Standards and Conformance Portal with all information on standards and conformance.  Further, the Bureau releases a weekly WTO TBT Notifications Bulletin to simplify information dissemination on direct links to notifications made by WTO Members.  U.S. companies can view the WTO–TBT Notifications Bulletin here: WTO-TBT Notifications Bulletin.

The Bureau circulates draft technical regulations for comment for 30 days.  All approved Department Administrative Orders (DAOs) for implementing PNS under mandatory certification are published in two newspapers of general circulation.  These technical regulations are posted in the Standards and Conformance Portal.  These are the recently issued Department Administrative Orders - BPS S&C Portal (dti.gov.ph).

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are required under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) to notify the WTO of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures that could affect trade.  Notify U.S. (www.nist.gov/notifyus) is a free, web-based e-mail registration service that captures and makes key information on draft regulations and conformity assessment procedures available for review and comment.  Users receive customized e-mail alerts when new notifications are added by selected countries or countries and industry sector(s) of interest and can also request full texts of regulations.  This service and its associated website are managed and operated by the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Contact

Bureau of Product Standards – Department of Trade and Industry

BPS Email: BPS@dti.gov.ph

U.S. Commercial Service – Philippines

BusinessPhilippines@trade.gov 

Use ePing to review proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures

The ePing SPS&TBT platform (https://epingalert.org/), or “ePing”, provides access to notifications made by WTO Members under the Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), distributed by the WTO from January 16, 1995 to present.  ePing is available to all stakeholders free of charge and does not require registration unless the user wishes to receive customized e-mail alerts.  Use it to browse notifications on past as well as new draft and updated product regulations, food safety and animal and plant health standards and regulations, find information on trade concerns discussed in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, locate information on SPS/TBT Enquiry Points and notification authorities, and to follow and review current and past notifications concerning regulatory actions on products, packaging, labeling, food safety and animal and plant health measures in markets of interest.

Notify U.S., operated and maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since 2003 to distribute and provide access to notifications (and associated draft texts) made under the WTO TBT Agreement for US stakeholders, has reached its end of life.  Per obligation under the TBT Agreement, each WTO Member operates a national TBT (and an SPS) Enquiry Point.  National TBT Enquiry Points are authorized to accept comments and official communications from other national TBT Enquiry Points, which are NOT part of the WTO or the WTO Secretariat.  All comment submissions from U.S. stakeholders, including businesses, trade associations, U.S domiciled standards development organizations and conformity assessment bodies, consumers, or U.S. government agencies on notifications to the WTO TBT Committee should be sent directly to the USA WTO TBT Inquiry Point.  Refer to the comment guidance at https://tsapps.nist.gov/notifyus/data/guidance/guidance.cfm for further information.