Prologue

What is a Consumer

What do we mean by a consumer? Well for the purposes of this blog Mr Grumpy will dispense with the scientific or ecological definitions. So, whether you are a carnivore, herbivore, omnivore or carrion feeder your dietary habits are of no concern to us.

Economically consumers are the end users of tangible and intangible goods and services. R.A. 7394 (The Consumer Act of the Philippines) defines a consumer as “a natural person who is a purchaser, lessee, recipient or prospective purchaser, lessor or recipient of consumer products, services or credit”. Consumers can be citizens, electors and taxpayers who are also government paymasters.

In most economies, government is the biggest provider of services. The Declaration of Basic Policy in R.A.7394 is “It is the policy of the State to protect the interests of the consumer, promote his general welfare and to establish standards of conduct for business and industry”. Notice that the State does not appear to want to protect the consumer from the biggest provider of consumer services – government.

This blogsite will subject business, industry and government departments to equal scrutiny.

The Philippines Consumer

Consumers in the Philippines get a raw deal from business and government. Mr Grumpy intends to highlight instances of consumer abuse in its many forms, and to encourage Filipinos to pursue the legal rights that many do not realise they have.The slogan "the customer is always right" was popularised over a hundred years ago by ethical retailers in the United States at a time when misrepresentation was rife and "caveat emptor", ("let the buyer beware"), the prevailing legal defence.The Consumer Act of the Philippines (R.A.7394) was enacted in 1992 and set out the rights and obligations of both consumers and business. Mr Grumpy also aims to encourage government and government agencies to rigorously enforce that legislation.
Consumers are the drivers of a nation's economy. Without consumers there is no economy