Small online sellers are pushing back against the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Trustmark program, warning that mandatory registration fees and disclosure requirements could be a burden for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The Trustmark program is designed to strengthen consumer protection and professionalize e-commerce, according to the DTI. However, online sellers say the program risks excluding small businesses that cannot afford the added expense.
The DTI is giving online merchants and digital platforms until Sept. 30, 2025 to register for the E-Commerce Philippine Trustmark.
It issued Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 25-12, Series of 2025, on Sept. 4 requiring all online businesses to secure trustmark, a digital badge that certifies compliance with standards under the Internet Transactions Act of 2023.
As of mid-September, only 8,000 sellers had enrolled—far short of the nearly 900,000 online businesses nationwide. The low enrollment rate reflects resistance from entrepreneurs wary of new compliance costs.
In Facebook posts, sellers voiced frustration, arguing that program fees could wipe out their already small profits.
“This is an added burden for small online sellers. The fees you will collect are already a year’s worth of our profit. You probably don’t know that we’re left with just cents because of all the deductions from online platforms,” one seller wrote.
Other sellers raised privacy concerns, noting that many MSMEs use their home addresses as their business addresses. Entrepreneurs also questioned the program’s relevance to consumers, saying shoppers typically rely on reviews and star ratings instead of government certifications.
“We are not against protecting buyers,” one entrepreneur commented, “but please don’t do it at the cost of killing small sellers who are only trying to make a living online.”
The pushback highlights a growing tension between government regulation and the realities of MSMEs, which make up the bulk of the country’s online economy. With only a fraction of sellers on board, the DTI faces a challenge in winning over the businesses it says the program is meant to help.
The mandatory registration follows a rise in consumer complaints, with the DTI recording more than 13,000 complaints related to online transactions between January and August 2025.
It said that as of Sept. 8, the DTI issued the trustmark to several major companies, including Shopee Philippines Inc., Bytedance Philippines Inc. (TikTok Shop), Lalamove Philippines Inc. and LG Electronics Philippines Inc.
