Nograles hits ‘mislabeling’ of consumer products, wants erring traders punished

ACABINET official has condemned “mislabeling” activities by some unscrupulous traders to benefit from the government’s “buy local” program, insisting they should be punished for their illegal act.

“It’s unfortunate na mayroon ngang gumagawa ng ganito. Pero hindi naman sila dapat nakakalusot. I know of particular example to that. Bawal po ang mislabeling at may mga batas tayo against that,” said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles during a Facebook Live session.

It was brought to Nograles’ attention that some erring businessmen label imported products as locally made to capitalize on the government’s “buy local” campaign, especially in the rice, poultry and construction industries.

“Actually, puwede iyang ireklamo sa DTI [Department of Trade and Industry]. Alam na ng DTI kung ano ang kailangan nilang gawin sa mislabeling,” added Nograles, who also heads the government’s Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) on Zero Hunger.

Nograles pointed out that mislabeling is a strong indication that the government’s “buy local” is gaining traction among consumers.

“Kung mayroong mga unscrupulous diyan na mini-mislabel nila na made in the Philippines, ibig sabihin marami sa mga kababayan na natin ang bumibili ng local products,” he said.

Nograles also reiterated the importance of patronizing local products, saying it will help revive the economy and protect businesses and jobs.

“Pinag-uusapan na rin po natin how to get the economy back on its feet, paano natin mare-revive ang ekonomiya, the best thing to do is buy local, buy Filipino,” Nograles said.

“Sa ganung paraan, natutulungan natin ang kapwa natin na mga Msmes,mga

negosyante,mga maliliit na negosyante, lalung lalo na itong small and medium enterprises at entrepreneurs at natutulungan natin ang kanilang pamilya,” he added.