BACOLOD City Councilor Bartolome Orola urged the village chiefs with satellite markets to provide a centralized weighing scale in the premises of their markets to protect the consumers from deceptive and unfair sales acts and practices.
Orola said it is the policy of the State to protect the interest of the consumer, promote the general welfare and to establish standards of conduct for business and industry.
He said Barangays 36, Bata, Estefania, Granada, Handumanan, Mansilingan, Sum-ag, Montevista, and Singcang have satellite markets and have a big population which is necessary for them to provide at least one or two centralized weighing scales to monitor any deceptive and unfair sales acts or practices in their respective satellite markets.
“This centralized weighing scale should be properly maintained and monitored by their respective barangays,” he added.
Orola noted that Article 62 of Republic Act No. 7394, or The Consumer Act of the Philippines, states that all instruments for determining weights and measures in all consumer and consumer-related transactions shall be tested, calibrated and sealed.
He said Section 64 of Republic Act No. 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines provides that it is prohibited for any person to knowingly use any false scale, balance weight or measure, whether sealed or not, furthermore it is also prohibited for any person to fraudulently give short weight or measure in the making of a scale.
“There have been numerous reports of weighing scales with short weight, or inaccurate measures being used during markets days of the barangays when many out-of-town vendors frequent these satellite markets,” he said.
He added that the centralized weighing scale will promote and encourage fair, honest and equitable relations among parties in consumer transactions and in order to protect the consuming public against deceptive and unfair sales acts or practices. (MAP/SunStar Bacolod)