Pursuant to Section 7 (3), Chapter 2, Book IV of the 1987 Administrative Code; Republic Act 4109; Republic Act 7394; Executive Order No. 133: 1987; Executive Order No. 101: 1976; and Executive Order No. 913:1983; the following rules and regulations governing the licensing of local and foreign companies to use the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark are hereby promulgated for the guidance of all concerned.


1.1       This Department Administrative Order prescribes the rules and regulations on the licensing of local and foreign companies to use the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.


For purposes of this Order, the following definitions shall apply:

2.1       Accreditation — The procedure by which an authoritative body gives formal recognition, under duly established guidelines and rules, that a body or person is competent to carry out specific tasks.

2.2       Accredited Laboratory — A testing laboratory formally recognized under established procedures for its competence to carry out specific tasks.

2.3       Audit — A systematic and independent examination to determine whether quality activities and related results conform to planned arrangements effectively and are suitable for a company to achieve its quality objectives.

2.4       Auditor — A person who is qualified and authorized to perform all or any portion of a factory and product audit for purposes of product certification and is registered with BPS or with an international registration body.

2.5       Applicant — A company that seeks a license to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.

2.6       BPS — Bureau of Product Standards

2.7       Certificate of Accreditation — A document signed by the Director of BPS issued to an accredited testing laboratory or inspection body.

2.8       Certification Body — An organization that conducts certification of conformity.

2.9       Certification of Conformity — An independent system establishing, after satisfactory factory and product audits, that adequate confidence is provided by a manufacturer that its identified product meets the requirements of a standard.

2.10    Conformity — Fulfillment of requirements of a standard

2.11    Director — Director of the BPS

2.12    DTI — Department of Trade and Industry

2.13    Inspection — Evaluation of conformity by measuring, observing or testing the relevant characteristics of a product.

2.14    Inspection Body — An organization that performs inspection services on its own or on behalf of BPS' conformity audit purposes.

2.15    International/Foreign Standard — a standard developed by ISO (International Organization for Standardization), IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) or other international or foreign standards body which may be accepted by BPS for purposes of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme.

2.16    License — A document issued by BPS to a company, authorizing its use of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark on its products.

2.17    Licensee — A company granted by BPS a license to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.

2.18    Non-Conformity — The non-fulfillment of requirements of a standard.

2.19    Philippine National Standard — The standard promulgated by the BPS relating to product specifications, test methods, terminologies and standardization procedures, guidelines or practices.

2.20    Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme — A system using the PS Quality and/or Safety Mark as proof of certification of conformity to quality and safety standards.

2.21    PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark — A mark of conformity appearing on a product.

2.22    Registration — A procedure by which the BPS recognizes and indicates the relevant qualifications of a company or person for a specific task in a publicly available list, after an evaluation of such qualifications under duly established guidelines.

2.23    Standard — A Philippine National Standard, international or foreign standard which is used as a basis for evaluating an applicant's quality control system and product for purposes of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme.

2.24    Surveillance Audit — Periodic evaluation of a licensee's quality control system to determine the conformity of its products to a specific standard and terms and conditions of the license.

2.25    Testing Laboratory — A laboratory which measures, examines, or determines the characteristics or performance of materials or products. It may also be a laboratory that calibrates inspection, measuring and test equipment.

2.26    Test Method — A defined technical procedure to determine one or more specified characteristics of materials or products.


3.1       Formulate Philippine National Standards or adopt as Philippine National Standards relevant international or foreign standards/guides for purposes of licensing of local and foreign companies to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark, accreditation of testing, inspection and/or certification bodies, and registration of auditors.

3.2       Promote, through publications, seminars and trainings, the wide adoption in the Philippines of Philippine National Standards.

3.3       Promulgate, consistent with this Order, programs, guidelines and procedures for the implementation of PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme. The Director of the Bureau of Product Standards is authorized to issue said guidelines and procedures, and their amendments.

3.4       Designate officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies.

3.5       Undertake Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and/or Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) with counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies to conduct audit of foreign companies relative to PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme.

3.6       Conduct, through or in coordination with DTI Regional/Provincial Offices, or in the case of foreign companies in coordination with the BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies, conformity audit, surveillance audits of companies and market monitoring relative to the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme.

3.7       Grant a company, which meets the requirements of a specific standard and of this Order, the License to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.

3.8       Collect fees for audit, testing and certification services, and charges to be paid by applicant or licensed companies to cover travelling, board and lodging of auditors performing official assignments under this Order, freight charges for the transport of product samples to laboratories for testing and purchase of market samples.

3.9       Specify the rules governing the design and use of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.

3.10    Suspend, withdraw or cancel for cause the license to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.

3.11    Require the preparation and submission of relevant documents to determine compliance by the licensee with the rules and regulations relative to the production, sale and disposition of goods, covered by the license.

3.12    Accredit, using international (ISO/IEC) guides, testing, inspection and/or certification bodies to conduct conformity audit of companies relative to the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme.

3.13    Register auditors who are qualified to conduct conformity audits.

3.14    Maintain and publish a registry of the following:

3.14.1      Companies licensed to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark.

3.14.2      Accredited testing, inspection and/or certification bodies.

3.15    Maintain and make available for public information a registry of qualified auditors.

3.16    Ensure confidentiality of all information received and gathered relative to the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme, except upon orders of a court of competent jurisdiction.

3.17    Participate in regional and international activities for the continuous upgrading of the competence of auditors and of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme.

3.18    Negotiate, consistent with Philippine laws and international agreements, for the recognition of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark by foreign/international certification or accreditation bodies.


4.1       The application for the license to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark shall be made in triplicate on BPS Form PS/SF01, obtainable from BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices or BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies.

4.2       The application shall include an undertaking by the applicant to abide by the terms and conditions of the license.

4.3       The application shall be duly subscribed and sworn to by the applicant, or his duly authorized management representative, and shall be filed with BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Office, which has jurisdiction over the area where the factory of the applicant is located. Foreign companies can file their applications to BPS or BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies which has either existing MOU or MRA with the BPS.

4.4       An application, and the eventual license, shall be standard — and site-specific. Separate applications shall made for products covered by separate standards. Likewise, separate applications shall be filed for same products but manufactured at different plant sites.

4.5       The application shall be supported by information about the company and its capability to manufacture products consistently conforming to the requirements of a specific standard in the form of a Quality Manual.

4.6       The applicant shall make available to the Director, or his duly designated representative, such information and product samples as may be required for the evaluation of its application for the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark, or for the periodic audit of its quality management system and product(s).

4.7       Audit work shall be undertaken by BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial auditors. In case of foreign companies only auditors who are registered with the BPS National Registration Scheme for Quality Assessors (NRSQA) or BPS officially recognized Registration Bodies for auditors can undertake audit.

4.8       After evaluation, if BPS finds that an applicant consistently conforms to a specific standard and meets other requirements of the license to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark, the Director shall approve the application and issue the corresponding license.

4.9       The license shall take effect from the date of its issue and shall be in full force and effect for an indefinite period, subject to a minimum annual re-audit. At any time, the license can be suspended, withdrawn or cancelled for cause.

5.

THE PHILIPPINE STANDARD (PS) QUALITY AND/OR SAFETY CERTIFICATION MARK

5.1       The design of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark shall be in accordance with the illustration in Annex 1.

5.2       The PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark shall be affixed on the product covered by the license. In case marking or stamping of the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark on the product is not possible, the Mark shall appear on the package of the product.

5.3       The PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark affixed on a product or its package may be enlarged or reduced to an appropriate size, provided that its dimensions conform to the specifications in Annex 1.

5.4       The PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark shall not be used on a product not covered by the license and in any misleading manner.

5.5       The licensee shall not use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark if its license has been suspended, withdrawn or cancelled for cause.


6.1       A license granted under this Order may be suspended, withdrawn or cancelled on any or all of the following grounds:

6.1.1        That the product bearing the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark fails to conform to the requirements of a specific standard through surveillance audit and market monitoring among others.

6.1.2        That the licensee fails to comply with the terms and conditions of the license.

6.1.3        That the licensee made false statements in connection with its application for or maintenance of the license.

6.1.4        That the licensee violates any of the provisions of this Order.

6.1.5        That the licensee violates any of the trade and industry laws enumerated under Ministry Order No. 69, Series of 1983, as amended.

6.2       Notwithstanding the preceding provisions, the Director may direct that the matter of suspension, withdrawal or cancellation shall be adjudicated under E.O. 913: 1983.

6.3       The license shall be suspended, withdrawn or cancelled after the Director has served the licensee a notice of his intention to do so, stating therein the grounds for the contemplated action granting the licensee the opportunity to be heard within fifteen (15) days from the date the notice has been received by the licensee.


7.1       The following terms and conditions shall be binding on all licensees.  Any infraction thereof shall constitute sufficient grounds for the institution of suspension, withdrawal or cancellation proceedings against a licensee,

7.1.1        The licensee shall abide by R.A. 4109, E.O. 133: 1987, E.O. 913: 1983 and R.A. 7394 and their implementing rules and regulations, and orders which the BPS issues in pursuance with its authority under law.

7.1.2        The licensee shall ensure that its certified product conforms at all times to a specific standard and, for this purpose, shall maintain to the satisfaction of BPS its quality management system.  The quality management system of the PS Licensee shall integrate the elements of applicable existing ISO 9000 series of standards.  Implementation of the integration of the ISO 9000 elements shall be adopted as stipulated in Section 9 of this Order.

7.1.3        The licensee shall affix the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark only on its certified product.

7.1.4        The licensee shall give duly-authorized representatives of the BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices or in the case of foreign companies by BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies, access during working hours to the premises where certified product is manufactured, for the purpose of evaluating materials, production processes, finished articles, quality assurance facilities, records and others in accordance with the "Guidelines of Auditing the Quality Control Systems of Manufacturing Firms Relative to the Issuance of the License to Use the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark", as issued by BPS.

7.1.5        The licensee shall be subject to at least once a year audit to ensure consistent compliance with the BPS requirements on Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Certification Mark Scheme.

7.1.6        In cases of subcontracts, it is understood that the licensee shall assume full responsibility for the quality of its sub-assemblies, semi-finished and finished products.

7.1.7        The licensee shall inform BPS in writing of any change of management, business name, brand name and/or transfer of plant site. In the case of transfer of plant site, notice must be made within one (1) month after such transfer is accomplished. For change or addition of brandname. BPS shall be notified for the necessary product audit.

7.1.8        Upon transfer of plant site, the license shall be deemed valid only after factory and product audit at the new site by BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Office or in case of foreign companies by BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies.

7.1.9        The licensee shall pay the applicable fees and charges as billed or stipulated by BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices or BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies.

7.1.10      The license to use the PS Quality and/or Safety Mark is non-transferable.

8.1       Fees and charges to be paid by the local and foreign companies to BPS or DTI Regional/Provincial Offices or BPS officially recognized counterpart National Standards Bodies, inspection and/or certification bodies, unless otherwise stated, shall be as per Schedule 1.

8.2       Fees and charges are subject to changes as may be necessary.

8.3       In the event of any untoward incident, the company shall be legally liable and responsible for the auditor during the entire duration of the audit.


9.1       In recognition of the need to upgrade the PS Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Scheme, the quality system requirements of local and foreign companies shall be as follows:

9.1.1        Existing PS Licensees — The quality management system shall be aligned to the requirements of applicable existing ISO 9000 series of standards and its future amendments by year 1998.  Whereas, the product audit shall be based on the requirements of the specific standard.

9.1.2        New PS License Applicants — The quality management system shall be as per requirements of applicable existing ISO 9000 series of standards and its future amendments.  Whereas, the product audit shall be based on the requirements of the specific standard.


10.1    This Order supersedes Department Administrative Order No. 4, Series of 1994.


11.1         This Order shall be published in two (2) newspaper of general circulation and shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication.

Adopted: 03 Feb. 1997