Safety comes first

Just because a product is cheap, it doesn’t mean it’s good. We are fond of buying cheap things — this is why the popular place to go to is Divisoria (in the city of Manila) where all the products from little trinkets, bags, shoes, clothes, toys, school supplies, household needs to vegetables, and fruits are cheap. 

The question is: Where do these products come from and are they made of good quality? Nowadays when times are tough, quality doesn’t seem to matter anymore. As long as we get a good bargain — we are happy.

Have you ever gone to 168 Shopping Mall or to the Tutuban Center? It becomes an adventure and an exciting chase going through all that maze of stalls, searching for a good buy and discovering new products. These are the places to go to, to get everything at very low prices. As a matter of fact, many of the sellers in the famous Greenhills Tiangge get their items from Divisoria and resell them — of course at a higher price.

Inside the 168 Mall — you will notice that most if not all stall-owners are Chinese. At first, I thought they were Chinese-Filipinos but at a closer look you will realize that most of them come from mainland China. I wonder if they have proper documents that allow them to do business in our country. As you know these opportunities should first be given to our Filipino brothers and sisters before foreign nationals. In fact, the ones who do business illegally should be deported right away.

It feels like some sort of Chinese invasion in that mall. As you enter you see Chinese people at the back of the counter and the Filipina sellers. Then, you begin to ask yourself, “Am I in Manila, in my own country or am I in Shenzhen, China?”

The experience seems funny at first but when the thought starts to sink, the feeling of amusement changes to a deep pulse of ‘threat’ — not physical but to our own national interest. By the way, there are also a handful of Korean nationals there, very few Filipinos. I guess Pinoys are more of consumers than producers. We better improve our sense of entrepreneurship to get our economy going. 

Going back on track, we better be wiser now in doing our purchases. A strong advocacy to inform the public about hazardous materials contained in some products has already begun. We must take it more seriously. This is not to put down any country for that matter but to fight for better consumer protection. 

Our statesmen better improve our laws on the quality of products produced and their controls before they reach the shelf at the supermarkets in this country (or the little that is left of it as many have already left to set up their factories in other countries with less red tape). Our free trade system seems to have some loose ends as well. Who should tighten the buckle to control products coming into this country? I sure hope our government has learned from all the tragedies happening in different parts of the world about ‘fake’ or ‘superficial’ products that put our lives at stake. If the Bureau of Customs (and BFAD in the case of food and drug) continuously allows cargos to enter without stronger measures of security control — then we are doomed. Should we continue to risk lives?

In the Herald Tribune, a writer recalls several products that have had some problems: “Chinese-made blankets and clothes found to contain high levels of formaldehyde in Australia and New Zealand, tainted pet-food ingredients, seafood and toothpaste with potentially dangerous chemicals and drugs. In Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world, two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at its stores were found to have traces of melamine, a chemical agent that led to a big pet food recall after customers said the products had made their pets sick. More than 150 brands of pet food were recalled after US inspectors said wheat gluten from China that was used to make the food had been tainted with melamine.

According to the 2007 EU RAPEX (Rapid Alert System for non-food consumer products) Report, the People’s Republic of China (including Hong Kong) is the country of origin for more than half (52% / 700 notifications) of notified products. The most frequently notified products in 2007 were: toys (417 notifications, approx. 31%), motor vehicles (197 notifications, approx. 15%), electrical appliances (156 notifications, approx. 12%), lighting equipment (84 notifications, approx. 6%), cosmetics (81 notifications, approx. 6%). More than 1 in 3 notified products was either a toy or a childcare article, confirming that child safety is a top-ranking priority for market surveillance authorities. 

According to the same report: The share of notifications on products of Chinese origin submitted through the RAPEX system in 2007 increased by 3 percentage points compared to 2006 (49% in 2006, 52% in 2007). However, it does not necessarily mean that there were more dangerous Chinese goods on the European market in 2007. In fact it seems that the knowledge on the origin of products is better since the share of products of unknown origin notified through RAPEX significantly decreased in 2007 compared to previous years (20% in 2005, 17% in 2006 and 13% in 2007). Certain products which had been notified in previous years as being of unknown origin were probably of Chinese origin.”

Amidst all these, Beijing still says that the world should have faith in the “Made in China” label and that a spate of product recalls has been unfair, biased and politically motivated. Who should we believe now?

In a text message I got from a friend, it warned the public to beware that many producers and sellers remove the “Made in China” tag. Oh no! What has this age brought us to — misery??? 

The emphasis on discipline to benefit our society is much needed. Progress demands honest work. Development demands more discipline. Society decreases its worth when too much corruption and evil rule outweigh the good. There can be no progress with lies and continuous deceit. For advancement to take place we must focus on the right work ethic. We must decide what road to take — the good or the bad.