Nearly 500 defective weighing scales now out of city markets
Normie Feliciano, a mother of five, opts to buy meat at a public market in Cebu City rather than those sold in supermarkets, which she thinks is sourced from other countries and of low quality.
Her only concern is that unlike supermarkets and grocery stores where the weighing scales used are digital, public market vendors often "cheat" from their customers.
"Mas nindot gyud og klase ang baboy sa merkado kaysa supermarket kay makita man nimo ang tambok nipis unya dili baho ang karne. So assured gyud ka nga good quality. Galing lang kay usahay naay mga tindera nga maro, mo-take advantage sa ilang customers. Dili motarong og timbang unya lipaton ka," Feliciano told The FREEMAN.
The Cebu City Hall is aware of such bad practices.
That is why yesterday, the city's Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification, Enhancement (PROBE) team destroyed a total of 498 defective weighing scales after simultaneous operations on Monday.
Before that, the team roamed around the city's major and satellite markets - such as Carbon, Taboan, and Ramos - to inspect the conditions of weighing scales used by the vendors.
The team tested and examined the defective weighing scales, checking their parts by putting heavy products on the scales.
"Makita nato ang uban nga dili heavy-duty ang timbangan, mao maguba ang spring and it causes the defection of the scale,'' said PROBE team head Raquel Arce.
Arce explained that the initiative aims to protect consumers' rights.
She said the team purposely destroyed the weighing scales publicly at the Cebu City Hall grounds to serve as a lesson to vendors who engage in unscrupulous business practices.
Arce said some vendors were aware of the defect of their weighing scales but still chose to use them. Others, however, were unaware because they merely rented the scales from other vendors.
She said they are expecting vendors to resort to other new tricks to deceive customers but she vowed to go after them.
"Sa pabor sad sa uban nga naninda, lain na sad na nga tricks ilang buhaton sa ilang mga timbangan aron ma-defect ang sakto nga timbang," Arce said.
While PROBE's operations are only to confiscate defective weighing scales, Arce said vendors who continue to use defective units will face other penalties, including confiscation of their products, push carts, and other belongings.
"Gihangyo nako ang mga naninda nga unta dili manikas. Unsaon ang dako nga tinda kung ipalit og tambal sa nerbyos kay kuyawan ka nga masakpan?" she said.
Destroyed and confiscated weighing scales are taken directly to the impounding area of the City Hall's General Services Office, which will then dispose of them.