Valenzuela: The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Task Force Kalasag (TFK) has seized a total of 872,652 units of substandard goods amounting to PHP297.9 million as of this month since its inception in April.
According to Philippines News Agency, these confiscated products were deemed substandard as they did not have proper markings mandated by the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) and lacked product information. These confiscated products included appliances; ceramic tiles/sanitary wares; steel wires; plywood; lead-acid batteries; television sets (consumer electronics); tires for automotive vehicles; and electrical (lighting and wiring devices).
Foam and dry chemical portable fire extinguisher; pipe (PE) for potable water supplies; lighter; monobloc chairs; helmet and their visors; motor vehicle brake fluid; inner tubes for tires; steel-angle bar; medical grade oxygen; deformed steel bars; safety belts (seat belts); unplasticized polyvinyl chloride or UPVC rigid electrical conduit; and black iron
or galvanized iron (BI/GI steel) pipes were also seized.
TFK also confiscated substandard black and galvanized longitudinally welded lightweight steel; liquid petroleum gas (LPG) gas regulator for domestic use; rubber hoses and hose assemblies for LPG; pipe for potable water supplies; compact disc/video CD/digital video disc/Blu-ray disc player; rerolled steel bars; and circuit breakers.
Of the confiscated goods, 156,318 units of uncertified and potentially hazardous household appliances amounting to PHP69.85 billion have been seized by the task force as of October 17.
On Wednesday, the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) held a ceremonial destruction of confiscated products as part of its commemoration of the 2024 Consumer Welfare Month at Trame Oil and Environmental Specialist Inc., a treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facility in Valenzuela City.
Some 9,874 units of household appliances, including electric fans, rice cookers, kettles, induction cookers, washing machines, blenders, and food p
rocessors with an estimated retail value of PHP7.75 million, were destroyed in the TSD facility. These confiscated goods were part of the enforcement activity in Valenzuela last June 26.
A formal charge was filed against the establishment on July 9, and DTI-FTEB’s Adjudication released a ruling on September 2, favoring the government. An order for disposal of the forfeited products was also issued, leading to the ceremonial destruction in Valenzuela.