P9.3-M worth of unregistered home appliances seized in Bulacan

More than P9.3 million worth of unregistered home appliances were seized by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) from two warehouses in Bulacan.

According to Jamie Santos’ report in Saksi on Wednesday, members of the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) conducted verification and validation at one of the warehouses in Plaridel following complaints from a number of consumers.

Among the items that were seized were washing machines, oven toasters, blenders, electric fans, rice cookers, and multi-cookers. These appliances are being sold online despite being unregistered and uncertified, the report said.

DTI-FTEB director Fhillip Sawali said that the appliances found in the warehouse do not have Philippine Safety and Import Commodity Clearance marks.

“Safety and quality po ang hinahabol natin dito. Nakakamura ang mga namimili online. Nakakamura dahil imported. But ayun po ang resulta, unsafe at walang kalidad na mga produkto,” he said.

(We are after the safety and the quality of the items. Consumers might think that they were able to save money because they can buy them online and they are imported. But these products are unsafe and of questionable quality.)

The two warehouses do not even have a permit and a safety mark, the report added.

The seized items were sealed and will be brought to DTI’s warehouse as evidence.

Further, the DTI also issued a violation notice on the foreign owner of one of the warehouses. The report said the owner was willing to cooperate with the agency but declined to face the media or issue a comment. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News