The Department of Trade and Industry – Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (DTI-FTEB), through the Business Licensing and Accreditation Division (BLAD), accredits service and repair enterprises (SRE) including those that repair, service, install, and maintain refrigerator and A/C or air conditioning (RAC) units, whether for household, commercial or mobile (motor vehicle) purposes.
Department Administrative Order No. 03, Series of 2006 requires these shops to have refrigerant recovery machines to use in recovering refrigerants in the A/C units to prevent the refrigerant from venting to the air while being serviced or repaired. They are also required to have non-disposable refrigerant cylinders/tanks, one for each type of refrigerant to store the recovered refrigerants. Refrigerants are known for having harmful effects on the environment since they have global warming and ozone depletion potentials. Relative thereto, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has a program in the collection of these recovered refrigerants for proper disposal.
SREs are also required to have technicians properly trained and certified by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and to submit copies of the relevant and valid TESDA certificates as part of the accreditation requirements.
FTEB-BLAD conducts validation inspection in the shop’s premises to verify the application and to check the required tools and equipment including the recovery machine. In 2019, the result of inspection showed that several shops were found to have no recovery machines, as such were endorsed to the FTEB Enforcement Division (ED) for issuance of Notice of Violation (NOV) and filing of Formal Charge.
“We remind all RAC SREs to submit proof of acquisition and a photo of their recovery machine as evidence that they own or lease the said equipment. New applicants, however, are to be inspected to ensure and validate the presence of recovery machines in their respective shop,” DTI-FTEB Director Ronnel O. Abrenica underscored.
Undersecretary for DTI – Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Ruth B. Castelo also added that DTI is one with DENR in protecting the environment and ensuring that consumers are provided with fair and satisfactory service from RAC service and repair shops and that sustainable consumption is promoted and practiced as well.
The RAC SREs is the second in the list of having the most number of accredited SREs after Motor Vehicle SREs.
For more information, consumers may email consumercare@dti.gov.ph or may call the Consumer Care hotline at 1-DTI (1-384). ♦
Date of Release: 26 April 2021