DTI softens stance on franchising industry rules

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry is positioning its yet-to-be-finalized guidelines for the growing franchising industry as more voluntary than mandatory.

Victorio Mario Dimagiba, director of the DTI’s Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection, said the objective of the guidelines was to help would-be franchisees avoid fly-by-night franchisers.

“The guidelines will give potential franchisees an idea of which questions to ask franchisers, to make sure that these franchisers will not dupe them of their hard-earned cash,” he said, relating that many of today’s franchisees were families of overseas Filipino workers who had cash to spare but had little or no experience in business.

“We want to prevent unscrupulous franchisers who victimize these OFW families from entering the industry. We want to write the guidelines in a business-friendly manner, so they won’t appear regulatory,” he added.

Instead of taking the form of an administrative order, he said the guidelines would most likely be in the form of a memorandum of agreement between DTI and franchise organizations such as the Philippine Franchise Association and Association of Filipino Franchisers Inc.

Both of these groups were included in the technical working group currently formulating and scrutinizing the contents of the guidelines, he related.

In a separate interview, PFA chair emeritus Samie Lim said the group preferred to police its own ranks. The DTI guidelines, however, were welcome in the sense that these would prevent fly-by-night franchisers from breaking into the industry and duping potential franchisees.

“Our members are all legitimate. We have our own set of guidelines, which are stringent enough to police our own ranks. We’re willing to cooperate with the DTI on the guidelines to ensure that the industry maintains its credibility,” he told reporters.

Dimagiba said the guidelines should be completed and released before year’s end. Abigail L. Ho, Philippine Daily Inquirer