THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday said it would need more testing facilities to determine the quality of vape products for taxation and safety purposes.

Trade Assistant Secretary Amanda Nograles said the test to distinguish salt nicotine from freebase content is crucial to determining the amount of tax to be imposed on a vape product.

It will also determine if a vape product contains cannabis or harmful substances.

Currently, the DTI gets this information solely from self-declaration of vape manufacturers and importers.

"If we depend on this self-declaration, there is no way for us to check if their declaration is accurate," Nograles said.

"Since 2022, when the Vape Law was passed, we have requested a budget in 2023 and again in 2024," she said, noting both requests have been denied.

The DTI has requested a P200 million funding for the construction of additional testing facilities.

Current data showed that the DTI has confiscated over 18,000 noncompliant vape products valued at P5.5 million.

The DTI said that the mandatory registration of vape products will start June 5, while enforcement of product standards and registration begins next year.

"After June 5, it means that items without a PS (Philippine standard) license or ICC (import commodity clearance) sticker will no longer be allowed to enter the Philippines," said Nograles.

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