MALOLOS CITY – Hundreds of hardware store owners in Bulacan vowed not to sell uncertified products to protect consumers and maintain their credibility.
This came after officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the province led the ceremonial destruction of fake electrical circuits surrendered by members of the Bulacan Hardware Association Inc., (BHAI).
“We received a number of complaints from our customers that products they purchased from different hardware stores in Bulacan are sub-standard in quality,” said Oscar Caluag, president of BHAI which is composed of at least 150 hardware store owners in the province.
He said that customers are losing their trust on the stores and products they are selling, thus they asked the DTI to help them identify fake products delivered to them by suppliers.
A series of workshops was conducted by DTI-Bulacan on product standards that led them to identify fake products.
“We have no way of determining fake products and we are thankful to DTI for their capability building workshops,” said Caluag.
He said that as an Electrical Engineer, he knows the difference between certified and uncertified products. This allows him to refuse or immediately return products delivered to his stores by suppliers.
But not all has that capability before the DTI conducted the series of workshops.
“We can’t blame other hardware store owners because they have no background, they just have the capital and chose to invest on hardware business,” Caluag said.
He also advised fellow hardware store owners to be watchful of the products delivered to them by suppliers.
One of the telltale signs is the low price, to which Caluag noted that quality products are usually higher in price.
“Suppliers always sell sub standard products at low price,” he said. “If it’s too good to be true, probably it’s not true.”
As this developed, the DTI-Bulacan destroyed electrical circuits surrendered by BHAI members.
“This is just the beginning, we will now start enforcement and confiscate sub-standard products which endanger lives of consumers,” said Rhine Aldana, DTI provincial director.
She also advised consumers and hardware store owners alike to always look for product standard seal on every product they purchase.
Aldana also disclosed that majority of uncertified products in the market now were smuggled from China.
“The DTI is coordinating with the regulatory agencies like the Bureau of Customs to prevent entry of smuggled products into the country, dahil ang kawawa ay yung mga consumer at mga store owners at retailers who are just trying to do honest business,” she said.
For his part, Caluag said that members of BHAI will now refuse to accept uncertified products delivered to them and vowed to report the suppliers.
This came after officials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the province led the ceremonial destruction of fake electrical circuits surrendered by members of the Bulacan Hardware Association Inc., (BHAI).
“We received a number of complaints from our customers that products they purchased from different hardware stores in Bulacan are sub-standard in quality,” said Oscar Caluag, president of BHAI which is composed of at least 150 hardware store owners in the province.
He said that customers are losing their trust on the stores and products they are selling, thus they asked the DTI to help them identify fake products delivered to them by suppliers.
A series of workshops was conducted by DTI-Bulacan on product standards that led them to identify fake products.
“We have no way of determining fake products and we are thankful to DTI for their capability building workshops,” said Caluag.
He said that as an Electrical Engineer, he knows the difference between certified and uncertified products. This allows him to refuse or immediately return products delivered to his stores by suppliers.
But not all has that capability before the DTI conducted the series of workshops.
“We can’t blame other hardware store owners because they have no background, they just have the capital and chose to invest on hardware business,” Caluag said.
He also advised fellow hardware store owners to be watchful of the products delivered to them by suppliers.
One of the telltale signs is the low price, to which Caluag noted that quality products are usually higher in price.
“Suppliers always sell sub standard products at low price,” he said. “If it’s too good to be true, probably it’s not true.”
As this developed, the DTI-Bulacan destroyed electrical circuits surrendered by BHAI members.
“This is just the beginning, we will now start enforcement and confiscate sub-standard products which endanger lives of consumers,” said Rhine Aldana, DTI provincial director.
She also advised consumers and hardware store owners alike to always look for product standard seal on every product they purchase.
Aldana also disclosed that majority of uncertified products in the market now were smuggled from China.
“The DTI is coordinating with the regulatory agencies like the Bureau of Customs to prevent entry of smuggled products into the country, dahil ang kawawa ay yung mga consumer at mga store owners at retailers who are just trying to do honest business,” she said.
For his part, Caluag said that members of BHAI will now refuse to accept uncertified products delivered to them and vowed to report the suppliers.
