The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Since its establishment in April, the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Task Force Kalasag (TFK) has seized 872,652 units of substandard goods valued at P297.9 million. The seized products were deemed substandard due to missing markings required by the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) and insufficient product information.
Confiscated items included household appliances, ceramic tiles, sanitary wares, steel wires, plywood, lead-acid batteries, consumer electronics like televisions, automotive tires, and various electrical components.
Additional seized goods comprised foam and dry chemical fire extinguishers, potable water pipes, lighters, monobloc chairs, helmets, motor vehicle brake fluid, inner tubes, medical-grade oxygen, deformed steel bars, and UPVC rigid electrical conduits.
TFK also removed from circulation other products including LPG regulators for domestic use, rubber hoses and hose assemblies for LPG, potable water supply pipes, compact disc players, rerolled steel bars, and circuit breakers.
As of Oct. 17, 156,318 uncertified and potentially hazardous household appliances worth P69.85 million were seized.
In celebration of the 2024 Consumer Welfare Month, the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) organized a ceremonial destruction of confiscated items at Trame Oil & Environmental Specialist Inc., a certified treatment, storage, and disposal (TSD) facility in Valenzuela City.
At the facility, 9,874 household appliances including electric fans, rice cookers, kettles, induction cookers, washing machines, blenders, and food processors with a retail value of P7.75 million were destroyed.
The seized appliances were part of a June 26 enforcement operation in Valenzuela. Following the operation, a formal charge was filed against the establishment on July 9, and on Sept. 2, the DTI-FTEB issued a ruling favoring the government, authorizing the disposal and destruction of the forfeited items.