PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan (PIA) — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Palawan destroyed confiscated items worth P267,659 that were found to be substandard during the monitoring in 2024.
DTI Provincial Director Hazel Salvador said that the destruction activity aims to protect the safety of consumers from substandard products sold in the market across the province.
The department confiscated the items in five establishments, including bulbs, fire extinguishers, pipes for potable water, an electric hand mixer, and steel wires, due to the absence of Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) and Philippine Standard (PS) stickers.
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“Base sa experience natin in the past three years, nag-i-improve, base sa ginawa namin monitoring. Ibig sabihin bumaba ‘yong mga violating firm, mas kakaunti ang nahulihan natin this year and also the amount, bumaba,” she said.
The confiscated items were destroyed at the Puerto Princesa Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Sta. Lourdes through the office of Solid Waste Management.
The agency only disposed of the dry chemical foam inside the fire extinguishers with the assistance of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP). DTI will return the tanks to establishments, it added.
The five establishments were subject to a P32,000 penalty, and one remaining firm is currently undergoing a hearing.
Salvador said that in 2023, the total amount of confiscated items was P327,594 and there has been a decreasing trend in confiscated items since 2022.
“Kung ano ang nakita natin na nagba-violate ay iko-confiscate natin—Ang purpose talaga kaya natin ito ginagawa ay para protektahan ang safety ng ating consumers, safety natin bilang mamimili,” she said.
Citing the three-year monitoring, Salvador said that there are no establishments in the province that are committing the same violation.
The department conducts the destruction of the confiscated items annually alongside its celebration of Consumer Welfare Month every October. (RG/PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
