Trade dept 6 reminds Ilonggos to shop wisely

By: Emme Rose Santiagudo

With only a few days left before Christmas, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Western Visayas reminded Ilonggo consumers to spend their bonuses and money wisely.

According to DTI-6 Regional Director Rebecca Rascon, the consumers could be overwhelmed by the sales, freebies, and bundles offered by shopping malls this holiday season.

“Sa subong damo sa mga consumers are amassed by a lot of sale, kadamo sang mga freebies, premium, bundles so ang aton mga konsumidor should be wise enough,” she said on Monday.

Rascon said she observed a lot of money is in circulation this holiday season primarily because bonuses of the employees were given ahead of time.

“I’ve noticed nga parang damo kwarta. I see a lot of people in the shopping malls. I see them nga kadamo sa ila and you can see long queues in the cashier,” she said.

Despite this, Rascon advised the consumers to only buy what is needed when shopping especially those with limited funds.

“They should be wise and buy what is needed, kon ano lang kinahanglan not anything nga pag-abot mo sa balay mo indi mo man gale kinahanglan,” she said.

Anything in excess could have been used for something that is necessary, Rascon added.

“Due to the demand, there are others that would opt for branded Noche Buena products, it’s their choice but for those with limited budget, they have to be a wise buyer,” she said.

Meanwhile, Rascon said there is sufficient supply of Noche Buena products in the region.

“We did not monitor any shortage because kadamo daan sang players subong,” she said.

Rascon said they are continuously monitoring the prices of the Noche Buena products.

DTI 6 also cautioned the consumers to check the labels of food and non-food items before purchasing it.

“For the food look at the expiry date while for toys look at the label for any harmful component and for Christmas lights it should have Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and Safety Mark and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) sticker,” Rascon noted.