Fake delivery orders/bookings have been rampant in the past couple of years. Now, the government is taking action by creating a new law against it.
Senate Bill No. 2302, also known as the Food, Grocery, and Pharmacy Delivery Services Protection Act which passed the third and final reading last Monday, January 17, aims to protect the public from fake delivery bookings.
This latest bill was authored by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Joel Villanueva, Lito Lapid, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
Pimentel notes that there has been an alarming amount of cases of fake bookings, especially during the time of the health crisis where more people rely on online bookings to order food, medicine, and groceries.
The goal of the law is to further protect delivery riders, drivers, and also, the general public.
With this bill, it’s being proposed to prohibit any method that will require the delivery rider/driver to make an advance payment for the orders.
Pimentel said that “This representation recently found out that an additional service called ‘Pabili or Pasabay’ is being offered by online delivery service providers wherein a customer may get the service of the online delivery service platform to buy products. It is the delivery driver or rider who advances the payment,”
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He added that “If this bill is passed into law, that arrangement of the driver or rider advancing the money to fulfill an online order shall no longer be allowed,”
The bill also wants to require delivery service providers to shoulder the bill incurred by fake order incidents.
Pimentel explained that the delivery app providers are the ones who are in business, while the delivery riders/drivers are just the agents. That sai, “all losses of the business must be borne by the businessman, the app provider.”
Delivery service providers who will violate the proposed law may face imprisonment and/or an under Php100,000 fine, with their permits or licenses revoked.
To keep everyone safe, the bill also wants the service providers to implement a know-your-customer rule. This means that users will have to submit proof of identity and residential address, which is subject to verification and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
The bill also wants to make order cancellations unlawful, unless the service provider gives its users that option. It will also be unlawful to refuse to receive an unpaid but confirmed order.
Fake order incidents are also one of the reasons why the government is pushing the SIM card registration bill.
Via: Newsbytes