During the launching, a total of eight units of digital weighing scales have been distributed to four major public markets in the city. Two weighing scales which will serve as “Timbangan ng Bayan” were given to each public market to include Calinan, Toril, Agdao, and Bankerohan.
The project adheres Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines declared as a State Policy to protect the interests of the consumer , promote his general welfare, establish standards of conduct for business and industry.
The law also states the implementation of measures to provide protection against deceptive, unfair, and unconscionable sales acts and practices.
Vice-Mayor Jay Melchor Quitain Jr. said his office has provided additional weighing scales. Four of the eight weighing scales came from the Vice-Mayor’s office.
Quitain said he hopes to expand the program to the other small wet markets or “talipapa” in the city.
DTI Davao City director Rachel Remetio in an interview said the project was first implemented in the city across Davao Region. However, Remetio clarified that the program is similar to the previous DTI project called “Timbangan ng Bayan,” which was launched in 2016.
She said this is to supplement what has been provided in the previous program.
Remetio is also hopeful that the program will also be duplicated to the other cities and provinces in the region should there be an additional funds.
Quitain, meanwhile, lauded some vendors in New Agdao Public Market for the accuracy of their traditional weighing scales after the latter conducted an ambush inspection of the weighing scales used by the vendors.
In case there are vendors practicing fraudulent weights and measures, the consumers are advised to report directly to the market masters or market supervisors in the respective public markets.
Agdao Public Market supervisor Gerardo Castillo , for his part, said the Ronda Palengke project is one way of protecting consumers against deceptive sales acts and practices.
He said once they receive a complaint, the market supervisor will then report to the City Treasurer’s Office since they are mandated to seal, calibrate, and check all the weighing scales. A penalty will be imposed on those who committed an anomaly.
Castillo said that the Timbangan ng Bayan will be manned by the market security guard and their office staff.
These weighing scales will be placed in a strategic location in the public market, where consumers can use in verifying the true and exact weight of their purchased commodity.
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