DIPOLOG CITY, Feb.15 (PIA)---Thirteen business establishments in Zamboanga del Norte were among the 94 business establishments in Zamboanga Peninsula which violated the Free Trade Law(FTL) in 2012, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Mr.
Julius Salaveria, Customer Welfare Division Chief, DTI-Zamboanga del Norte
Provincial Office based in Dipolog City said that “of the 13 violators from the
province, six were able to immediately reopen their businesses after correcting
their mistakes, while the remaining 7 violators were formally charged in court.”
Salaveria
further disclosed that of the seven establishments, only two were penalized for
their failure to rectify their violations amid repeated warning from the DTI.
They were ordered closed and meted out a penalty of P45,000.00.
Twenty-one
establishments, on the other hand, were penalized for their violations under the
price tag law while 23 firms were found violating certain regulations under sales
promotion, and four others under the business name law.
DTI-ZN
also reported that a total of P154,000.00 of fines were meted out to erring
establishments for their violations of certain provisions of Department Order
No. 2 series of 2007 on Philippine Law on Standards.
The
DTI, whose mandate includes the protection and promotion of consumer welfare
bared that 46 of the violators were from Zamboanga City, 13 from Zamboanga del Norte
and the rest were from Zamboanga Sibugay.
DTI
has collected a total of P195,000.00 from penalties of various violations.
DTI
is now calling on the consumers to be vigilant and urges them to report to
appropriate authorities any unethical practices or violations they may notice
with the establishments.
DTI
exercises jurisdiction over cases involving consumer product quality and
safety; deceptive, unfair sales acts and practices; consumer products and
service warranties; price tag; mislabeling/fraudulent advertising; service and
repair shops; advertising and sales promotion.
Among
those falling under the Department of Agriculture (DA) are quality and safety,
and labeling and packaging of agricultural products, while food, drugs,
cosmetics, and devices and hazardous substances fall under the Department of
Health (DOH).(FPG/DTI/ATR/PIA9)
