The Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) is the Philippines’ national standards body and operates as a bureau of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). It is responsible for developing, adopting, and promulgating Philippine National Standards (PNS), as well as coordinating national standardization activities to support consumer protection, public safety, and trade facilitation. BPS formulates standards development policies in consultation with relevant government agencies and stakeholders, regularly reviews and updates PNS to reflect technological and market developments, and works to avoid duplication of standards work while promoting harmonization with international standards and technical regulations.

In addition to its standards-setting role, BPS has significant operational responsibilities in conformity assessment. Through its product certification functions, the bureau implements mandatory product certification schemes for selected products placed on the Philippine market. These include the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Licensing Scheme for manufacturers and the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) Certification Scheme for imported products. BPS prepares implementing policies and guidelines for standards subject to mandatory certification, organizes consultations and public hearings on standards implementation, and develops market surveillance and monitoring policies for products affecting life, health, and safety. It also monitors the development of conformity assessment procedures to ensure alignment with internationally accepted protocols.

BPS operates a Product Testing Division and a Testing Center that support both certification and standards development. Its technical activities include third-party testing to verify conformity with specified PNS, electrical, chemical, and mechanical testing in support of product certification requirements, developmental testing for products covered by standards under formulation or revision, and confirmatory testing where there are conflicting results from other government or private laboratories.

At international and regional level, BPS represents the Philippines in standards-related cooperation and coordination. It serves as the country’s National Standards Body in frameworks covering standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment procedures, and operates the Philippines’ enquiry point under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. Through these roles, BPS engages with international and regional mechanisms and organizations, including the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ASEAN standards cooperation structures, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) mechanisms, supporting transparency, alignment with international practices, and the reduction of technical barriers to trade. For more information, please visit the official website of the Bureau of Philippine Standards or consult its official social media profile maintained under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).