Tuesday, September 23, 2008 DTI to monitor Christmas lights sale By Carlo P. Mallo
WITH the Christmas season just a couple of months away, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Southern Mindanao is now intensifying their monitoring of the influx of Christmas lights in the city's trading centers.
In an interview Monday, Boy Cubillas, Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist of DTI said they are now monitoring the influx of Christmas lights into the region without the Import Clearance Commodity sticker being issued by the agency.
"Like last year, we started around September, we do not do it during December," Cubillas said.
"We monitor it during the months leading to the Holiday season."
Christmas lights without the quality seal of the DTI usually proliferate in the various shopping establishments in the city.
Due to their substandard quality, these Christmas lights usually cause electric short circuits resulting to fires.
However, a bigger problem being faced by the trade department is the modus operandi of some importers who initially submit quality Christmas lights for testing by the trade department.
Afterwards, these importers would then import sub quality Christmas lights and use the codes of the ICC given by the trade department for the sub quality Christmas lights.
