DTI, UP Law school work on e-commerce road map

MANILA,Philippines — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will work with the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law on the review of the country’s e-commerce roadmap.

In a statement, DTI said Trade Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba and UP Law dean Fides Cordero-Tan entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the area of e-commerce, or the buying or selling of goods and services online.

Under the MOU, UP Law Center will provide technical assistance through the e-commerce program office in the review of the roadmap covering the period 2016 to 2020, as well as in the succeeding plan.

In addition, the UP Law Center will give inputs in regulations to be put in place for e-commerce. In particular, it will give insights on policies covering protection of merchants and consumers, as well as online dispute mechanism.

DTI and UP Law Center have earlier conducted meetings to consult digital platforms, fintech companies, logistics service providers and other stakeholders to identify issues and concerns, as well as recommendations for the new e-commerce roadmap.

Last August, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the agency is revising the e-commerce roadmap to reflect higher targets for the industry and to lengthen its period of coverage until 2022 instead of just up to next year.

Given emerging new technologies, he said the government is optimistic in raising targets.

In the review of the roadmap, DTI is targeting 500,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to be utilizing e-commerce by 2022.

Under the current roadmap, the DTI set a target of 100,000 MSMEs using e-commerce by next year.

Lopez said currently, close to 100,000 MSMEs are already engaged in e-commerce.

When it comes to the contribution of e-commerce to the economy, he said the agency is aiming for 40 percent to 50 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2022

The current roadmap set the goal for e-commerce to account for 25 percent of GDP by 2020.