DTI orderes pull out of substandard products in North Cotabato stores

KIDAPAWAN CITY - Electrical products found to be sub-standards and smuggled in the marketwere sealed and ordered pulled outby the Department of Trade and Industry in Kidapawn City as the agency launchedRegional Inter-Provincial Standard Product Enforcement an Monitoring.These products will no longer be displayed in shelves of department stores identified by DTI, according to Jong Quijano of DTI-North Cotabato.The items have no Product Standards (PS) marks or Import Commodity Clearance (ICC).Two business establishments in Kidapawan City and another in Kabacan, North Cotabato were inspected by the DTI-led team.Quijano identified the inspected products proven to be without PS or ICC marks as electrical wiring, compact lamps and other electric devices.He said substandard electric devices on display and landed on consumers' houses were believed to be the cause of conflagration and fire in residential areas. These products did not undergo testing by DTI, he said.Meanwhile, close to P8.2 million worth of fake laundry soap stocks were confiscated by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Team (CIDT) Kidapawan in a raid in Survive Marketing department store in Kidapawan City andC Invet Incorporated.CIDG Deputy Director for Administration Chief Supt. Jose Erwin Villacorte said the raid was carried based on a search warrant issued by a local court.Investigation showed that Champion brand laundry soap was replaced with new labels bearing the name Barato Bar and Ganda Soap.CIDT is now preparing charges for violation of Section 170 of Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines against the business establishments.