DTI: All child seats need to be certified

Republic Act 1129, otherwise known as the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act of 2020, was to be implemented back in February of 2021. However, after a bit of time has passed and several questions were raised by the general public, the act was postponed. 

The critics argued that there were no clear regulations and that there was a lack of protocols for its enforcement. The act also required that the child restraint systems (CRS) needed to undergo accreditations by the LTO in order to meet safety standards. 

Now, the Department of Trade and Industry - Bureau of Philippine Standards (DTI-BPS) recently issued some supplemental guidelines for the mandatory certification of all CRS in the country. 

Memorandum Circular No. 21-20, series of 2021 addresses the concerns raised by the CRS manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, and manufacturers regarding the international standards in addition to those mentioned by the DTI DAO 20-03, series of 2020. Importers will need to secure the Philippine Standard (PS) Safety Certification Mark License or the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) certificate in order to be able to distribute and sell the products in the country. 

Similar to how motorcycle helmets are marked by an ICC sticker, manufacturers, retailers, and the like will have to get additional certification for their CRS products. Test results from the manufacturers of these safety products cannot be more than 2 years old must also be presented such as the ISO 9001 certificates in addition to several others. 

Following the latest memo, 21-20, a deadline has been set for the remaining brand-new child seats in possession of importers distributors, or retailers imported prior to DAO 20-03. The deadline for this clearance is August 7, 2021, and by the next day, all CRS must have the PS License Mark or the ICC Sticker. 

Parents who’ve already purchased a child seat prior to Republic Act 11229 must acquire clearance from the LTO at any branch.