“Upon effectivity of this ACT, all gift checks already issued shall be covered by the provisions of this Act. It is the policy of the State to protect the interests of the consumer, promote the general welfare and establish standards of conduct for business and industry.” A statement on the Gift Check Act of 2017 reads.
"Gift checks that are issued to consumers including, but not limited to, those under loyalty, rewards, or promotional programs, as determined by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are not covered by this Act," it added. The Act is a consolidation of House Bill No. 6016 passed on October 10 and Senate Bill No. 1466 passed on October 11.
Under this RA 10962, merchants are no longer allowed to issue gift check that bears and expiry date, to impose an expiry date on the stored value, credit, or balance of the gift check, and to refuse to honor the unused value, credit, or balance stored in the instrument. Nevertheless, Coupons or vouchers are not covered under this new law.
As punishment for first-time violators, they will be obliged to return the unused balance of the gift check within 90 days from DTI’s declaration of the violation. In addition, they will be subject to a fine of not less than P500,000 but not more than P1 million.
For second time violators, in addition to the fine, the issuance of the gift check of the offending party shall be suspended for three months. For the third offense, aside from the fine, the issuance of the gift check by the offending issuer shall be cancelled.
The bill was introduced by Bulacan Rep. Jose Sy-Alvarado before the House of Representatives and Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri before the Senate. President Duterte signed the Gift Check Act last December 19, but Malacañang released a copy only last Friday. The act shall take effect 15 days after its publication in at least two newspapers.
Contributed by Renato Pasayao
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