Trade Talk by Art Tibaldo
The Baguio Reporter
August 07 2005
Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang, Tubog Sa Ginto, Kastilyong Buhangin: these may be typical titles of Filipino films but same are lecture topics of a forum conducted in Baguio by Gateway East and Department of Trade and Industry Region 2.
The forum was dubbed Barangay Consumers Assistance and Production Team or Barangay CAPT participated by about three hundred Kagawads and Punong Barangays from the Cagayan Valley area.
Atty. Willy Clemente of DTI-CAR discussed what the buying public should do in “Tinimbang Ka Ngunit Kulang” and how consumers can detect and report opportunists who do not follow weight standards.
The topic Anak Ka Ng Pirata presented by a speaker from the Optical Media Board outlined how pirated products in VCDs, DVDs and softwares destroy our economy and steal the rights of intellectual property owners.
The OMB speaker said that legitimate companies spend on research and development, quality control, royalties and government taxes while pirates ride on the efforts made by others.
Ex Cop Reynaldo Jaylo who is now a Director of the Presidential Task Force on Illegal Recruitment explained how to detect and report illegal recruiters in Ang Nilokong Bayani.
Jaylo with his self styled presentation explained the causes of illegal recruitment as; Disfunction in society, Employment scarcity, Value distortions, Ignorance and Liar recruiters and traffickers completing the acronym DEVIL.
In Patay Kang Baka Ka, the speaker from the National Meat Inspection Committee explained how one can detect fresh meat from double dead meat.
The NMIC speaker illustrated condemnable meat products as having tell tale signs such as inflamed and swelling body parts, signs of hemorrhage, pale soft exudatives and severed liver or lungs caused by larva or roundworms. Meat buyers should check for normal meat color with no blood splashes and unusual odor.
One topic during the forum discussed what consumers need to know about the price tags and labels in ‘The Price is Right”. The speaker from DTI Region 2 quoted provisions of the Consumer Act which states that all consumer products shall bear an appropriate price tag, label or marking indicating the price of the article.
In a lecture that could have been entitled “You Light Up My Life”, the speaker from the Energy Regulatory Commission enumerated consumer rights such as; the Right to Notice Prior to Disconnection, the Right to Tender Payment at the Point of Disconnection and the Right to Suspension of Disconnection.
According to the Magna Carta for Residential Electric Consumers, Disconnection of services shall not be made on any weekday beyond three o’clock (3PM) in the afternoon, Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays and under circumstances where a permanent resident is sick and dependent on a life support system requiring electricity.
Further, electricity shall not be cut during the funeral wake of a deceased permanent resident, when the customer can prove that he or she did not receive a statement of account or a disconnection notice.
These and other sub topics discussed during the three day forum has equipped the Barangay officials of region two with the necessary information that can guide and help them serve better in their respective communities.
Mr. Cesar Cueto of Gateway East told this writer that there is a planned similar forum this September in Baguio. With the able partnership of the Department of Trade and Industry, creative forums such as the Barangay CAPT will definitely empower leaders and stakeholders.
As we always say to students, INFORMATION IS KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.
Posted by artibaldo
at 11:29 PM EDT
