The urban pest control industry is considered by practitioners as an orphaned industry. There are so many pest control practitioners in the market which are either operating as a single proprietor or corporation. At least 1,000 pest control businesses are registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These registered pest control businesses are listed as having a business operation either within the barangay, city/municipality, regional or national levels. Other than the legitimate PCOs there are “fly-by-night” operators whom are non-registered entities but are doing the business as a Pest Control Operator (PCO).
These groups of individuals are considered as such, simply because they do not have any documents or business registrations. Oftentimes, employees of legitimate PCOs during their free time or over the weekend would service their own clients or worse, talk to the existing clients of the PCOs they are working for, and offer the services outside of the contract, obviously for a much lower price or any valuable considerations. The existence of so many pest control practitioners in the market has stiffened the competition allowing for price wars. Usually the so called fly-by-night operators are the ones the perpetrate these price wars because they can offer their services without considering other cost factors associated in a legitimately organized company. Additional discussion regarding this is presented further in this paper.
As a result of the decision of the Supreme Court in the MAPECON vs. FDA case, the Department of Health through the Bureau of Food and Drugs (now Food and Drugs Administration ) stepped-in by issuing a memorandum for the transitioning of the registration of urban pest chemicals from the FPA to the Department of Health-Bureau of Food and Drugs (DOH-BFAD) which authority came from PD 881 . Eventually, R.A. 9711 or the “FDA Act of 2009” was enacted which states that it shall be the authority in registering hazardous substances or urban pesticides, including pest control establishments.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its letter states that the Center for Cosmetics Regulation and Research (CCRR) of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the only regulatory agency in the Philippines as per RA 9711 “The FDA Acts of 2009” which is tasked to regulate the Pest Control Operators (PCO) handling household/urban pesticides. It further states that the issuance of the Administrative Order no. 2014-0038, was to provide guidelines, rules and regulation on issuance of License to Operate as Urban Pest Control Operator (UPCO) and training and certificate for Certified Urban Pesticide Applicators(CUPAs). However, CCRR is currently in the process of amending the guidelines in which all the issues and concerns were taken in to consideration. Thus, the regulation on licensing of pest control operators remains in status quo…”
This move was supported by the Philippine Federation of Pest Management Operators’ Associations, Inc. (PFPMOA, Inc.) which is an aggregation of groups that is composed of various organizations such as the Philippine Association of Professional Fumigators Inc. (PAPFI), the Pest Control Association of the Philippines (PCAP) Inc., the Pest Exterminators Association of the Philippines (PEAP) Inc., the South Luzon Pest Management Operators’ Association of the Philippines (SL-PMOAP) Inc., the North Central Luzon Pest Management Operators’ Association (NCL-PMOA), Inc. and the Pest Control Association of the Visayas (PCAV) Inc.
However, there are other groups which are composed of entomologists and industry practitioners to whom MAPECON belongs to, that are not in favor of this move by the FDA and PFPMOA. Specifically, they are pointing out that it is the National Committee on Urban Pest Control (NCUP) that should perform the role of accrediting pest control operators and providing for the necessary trainings. MAPECON through the NCUP claims that the industry is governed not by any government agency, but by the NCUPC which is a non-government organization established for the said matter.
Apart from pertinent laws such as the Sanitation Code , Building Code in place that are related to the practice of urban pest control, still there are various initiatives currently being implemented to regulate the industry. FDA has initiated various public hearings and prepared drafts of its Administrative Order (AO) related to Rules and Regulations Governing the Licensing of Urban Pest Operators, Certification of Urban Pest Applicators and Training of Technicians and Workers, and for Other Purposes. The said AO is meant as a prohibition from selling pest control chemicals over the counter through traditional hardware and DIY shops, particularly those belonging to the red or yellow band. Once this regulation is passed, pest control companies can no longer easily obtain their chemicals from other sources apart from legitimately recognized dealers and distributors who have previously applied for a license with the Food and Drug Administration.
Also, a bill was sponsored by Agham Party list by Representative Palmones entitled, House Bill Urban Pest Management Act of 2010 with the objective of regulating the pest control industry, which was set for the 1st reading in Congress. Committee deliberations were started and interest groups were invited to the public hearings. However, the Congressional term of the bill’s sponsor has ended and he was never re-elected, and the bill was left hanging in the committee level. Government regulation is a legitimate exercise of the Police Power of the state in order to safeguard the safety and health of the people. Considering that the industry is involved in urban pesticides, chemical risks exposure is high. Once the industry is regulated, it will provide for an avenue to eliminate, if not reduce significantly “fly-by-night” operators. This will thereby allow the market to proliferate in favor of legitimate and licensed pest control companies.