With the Christmas season fast approaching, Sen. Bam Aquino called on concerned government agencies to prevent the proliferation of substandard Christmas lights and other products that endanger the lives of consumers.

“Dahil malapit na naman ang panahon ng kapaskuhan, asahan na ang pagdagsa ng mga produktong depektibo na maaaring magdulot ng panganib sa ating mga mamimili, gaya na lang ng hindi sertipikadong Christmas lights,” said Sen. Bam.

“Ngayon pa lang, kailangan nang bantayan ng mga kaukulang ahensiya ng pamahalaan ang mga nasabing produkto upang hindi na makarating pa sa ating mga mamimili,” added Sen. Bam.

During his stint as chairman of the Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship in the 16th Congress, Sen. Bam conducted spot inspection in several stores in Metro Manila to ensure the safety of Christmas lights being sold in the market.

Last year, Sen. Bam and a team from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) found boxes of substandard Christmas lights in Divisoria and Dapitan.

Sen. Bam also visited several supermarkets and stores to check if there was enough supply and if they were following the suggested retail price (SRP) issued by the DTI for Noche Buena goods.

Sen. Bam appealed to traders to be responsible in selling goods and to follow the SRP released by the DTI.

“Nananawagan din tayo sa ating mga mamimili na huwag tangkilikin ang mga produkto na mababa ang kalidad dahil sa halip na tayo’y makamura, nalalagay pa sa panganib ang ating mga buhay,” the senator stressed.

The lawmaker has been pushing to add more teeth to Republic Act (RA) 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines to empower and protect citizens more against substandard goods and services.

He is set to file amendments to the Consumer Act next week.