In line with the celebration of the World’s Consumer Rights Day, the City Vice Mayor’s Office (VMO) in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry-Davao Region (DTI-Davao) officially launched the first-ever “Ronda Palengke Project” on Friday morning, March 15, 2024, at the New Agdao Public Market.
Davao City is the first local government unit (LGU) in the region to mobilize the project which aims to empower both consumers and merchants by raising awareness about consumer rights.
Among the markets that received the deal for the nationwide project which was launched last 2016 are Calinan Public Market, Toril Public Market, Bankerohan Public Market, and Agdao Public Market.
Quitain alongside DTI-Davao representatives and market supervisors immediately conducted a face-to-face visit to several stalls inside the market to test the accuracy of the weighing scales of the vendors.
In an interview, Quitain told Davao reporters that consumers should know their rights and urged them to report deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales acts and practices of sellers to DTI Consumer Protection Divisions.
“Kung naa silay mga reklamo, mamahimo silang muadto sa DTI Consumer Protection Divisions (If they have complaints, they can go to the DTI Consumer Protection Divisions),” he said.
Under the Republic Act (RA) 7934 otherwise known as “The Consumer Act of the Philippines” any person who shall violate this law will be subjected to a fine of not less than P1,000 but not more than P10,000 and P200,000 or imprisonment of not less than two months, three years
but not more than one or six years, or both upon the discretion of the court.
On a separate note, Davao City Vice Mayor J. Melchor Quitain spearheaded the distribution of eight units of Timbangan ng Bayan to major several public markets in the city through the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). DEF