Choose quality and safety over cheap price, Lim reminds shoppers

MANILA, Philippines - With the season for Christmas shopping at hand, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim on Saturday reminded shoppers to think of quality and safety above everything, especially when buying products that could cause fire. At the same time, Lim warned vendors against peddling substandard products, saying he won’t hesitate to suspend their licenses when caught violating the law. "Our fellow Filipinos should test the products being sold to them to find out its quality. This is for their own sake and safety; they should look for the DTI marking to make sure that they wouldn't be endangered," he said in Filipino during a radio interview. He told consumers that quality, not price, should be the primary consideration when buying a product. "Paalala lang sa ating mga kababayan na wag silang matutukso kung mura ang halaga kung ang kapalit naman eh masasaktan sila o masusunog ang bahay nila, eh mas malaki ang kanilang gagastusin (I am reminding our fellow Filipinos not be tempted by the cheap prices if in the end it will only hurt them or burn their house, they'll end up incurring more expenses)," he said. He issued the statement in connection with the campaign of the city government and the Manila Police District against defective or substandard Christmas decorations being sold in the city, particularly in Quiapo and Divisoria, which prompted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to issue a new seal for approved products. Lim said that suspension of vendors' licenses would serve as a warning for all violators of DTI regulations. " I hope this would serve as a warning or notice for shop owners to be careful because they might sacrifice operating their businesses for one whole year. We will not hesitate to close down their shops," he said. " We will cancel the permit and licenses of those who continue to sell dangerous products; they will not be able to sell anymore." "Dapat ho managot din sila, meron naman silang mga personnel, meron naman silang mga tauhan, ipainspeksyon nila sa ahensya ng pamahalaan na ang hangarin lang eh ang kaligtasan ng ating mga mamimili (They should be accountable, they have personnel, they have people, they can have their products inspected by government agencies concerned with the consumer safety)," he said. Lim suggested that a special team be formed by the DTI and the Manila local government to further strengthen the campaign. He also said that he will coordinate with the Bureau of Immigration on Monday to find out the status of the owners of the shops selling products suspected to be substandard. "Kung turista lang pala sila dito, hindi sila pwede magbenta dito sa atin, siguro maging miyembro ngating inspection team ang immigration para coordinated lahat ng ating gagawin (If they are tourists, they can't do business here, maybe we can recruit immigration personnel into our inspection team so that we will be coordinated)," he said. Lim also promised to keep Manila streets "vendor-free" during the day. "'Yan nga ang ginagawa natin na ang kalsada ay kinakailangan zero vendors para yung mga turista naman at ang mga mamimili na gustong pumunta ng Divisoria, ay makapunta doon ng walang sagabal at obstruction (That's what we're doing – keeping the streets with zero vendors so that tourists and shoppers who want to go to Divisoria can come without obstruction)," he said. Vendors will still be allotted enough space, specifically one by one square meter. " From 7 p.m., vendors are allowed to sell on the streets for the night market because people have already gone home by then, they wouldn't be bothering anyone)," he said.- GMANews.TV