07/10/2026
𝗜𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮 𝘀𝗮 𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗴𝗮 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗔 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿-𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀!
Congressman Angelo Marcos Barba, as the principal author of House Bill No. 8309, “An Act Amending Republic Act No. 11967, otherwise known as the Internet Transactions Act,” aims to strengthen user protection in the digital marketplace. The said Bill was filed on March 5, 2026, and was referred to the Committee on Trade and Industry on March 10, 2026.
Through HB 8309, the bill aims to expand the regulatory coverage of R.A. No. 11967 to include customer-to-customer (C2C) transactions, said Act only covering business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) exchanges. By bringing C2C transactions under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 's regulatory purview, the amendment gives individual buyers and sellers on digital platforms a proper venue for redress and complaint resolution.
Additionally, it guarantees online merchants reasonable freedom in choosing preferred logistics service providers rather than being limited to courier options mandated by digital platforms. Giving sellers the freedom to select couriers fosters healthy market competition, encourages better prices and service quality, and ultimately protects buyers from bearing the burden of high logistics fees.
