DTI chief: Diskwento Caravan meant to make non-relief items available in typhoon-hit areas

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo on Wednesday defended the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Diskwento Caravan against criticism that it is being used by the government to skim profit off typhoon victims by having them buy the items that may otherwise be distributed for free.

 

“[The Diskwento Caravan] is a public service conducted by DTI in partnership with big manufacturer and/or distributors. It is also an act of public service by the manufacturers and distributors as most of them do not make money on their Diskwento Caravan Activities,” Domingo said in a statement.

 

Domingo also said Diskwento Caravans have been deployed to areas hit by typhoon Yolanda to give the affected residents access to cheaper products. He added that the DTI has been selling discounted products through the mobile store for several years as a form of public service.

 

The DTI drew flak from netizens after CNN’s citizen journalism website iReport reported that the caravan sold items to typhoon survivors in Tacloban City.

 

Malacañang earlier said that the Diskwento Caravan has been roving around major cities and towns to sell discounted items even before Typhoon Yolanda struck parts of the Visayas region.

 

Domingo said that since the Diskwento Caravan began going around Eastern Samar and Leyte on November 17, typhoon victims were able to have access to cheap, non-relief items that have been unavailable in other stores. 

 

“In calamity areas, the value of Diskwento Caravans is in providing the availability of non-relief item at a discounted price. In the last 10 days in Samar/Leyte, we have provided many truckloads of bread, canned milk, assorted other canned goods, other types of beverage, sanitary napkins/panty liners and many other products that are otherwise unavailable in the area,” he said.

 

A DTI official said on Monday that more than 7,000 buyers were able to purchase basic goods at a discount from the Diskwento Caravan set up by DTI in the cities of Catbalogan and Calbayog in Samar last week.

 

DTI OIC Regional Director Stanley Tabiando has announced that the Diskwento Caravan will no longer be a one-day event but will run until the businesses in Tacloban return to normal.

 

The caravan, which will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m, will also offer bread and construction materials for the typhoon victims aside from basic commodities and products.  — Xianne Arcangel/ELR, GMA News