THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) was able to collect around P100,000 worth of penalties from confiscating substandard Christmas lights in four stores in Gingoog City and Cagayan de Oro.
After the receipt of payment, the substandard lights were destroyed by the City Price Coordinating Council (CPCC) Wednesday. These lights were confiscated last year and have an estimated value of P17,000.
Lawyer Edgardo Uy, CPCC chairman, said compared to previous years, they noticed a decline in the substandard Christmas lights, which means that their campaign at raising awareness is working.
"This is an indication that they now have awareness on the importance of complying to regulations. For the public, it is also now easier to detect substandard by just looking for the presence of ICC or PS mark," he said.
Two of the stores are penalized with P35,000 each, while the other two were asked to pay P17,500 each.
"The value of the confiscated items is only at P17,000, but they paid bigger penalty. There's no substitute to complying with regulations," Uy added.
The DTI said Christmas lights without ICC stickers or with fake substitutes are possibly substandard and may cause fires due to electrical malfunctions.