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OCTOBER 29 - NOVEMBER 4, 2017 NEWS and UPDATES 3


DTI: be cautious consumers


Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros Oriental is asking the public to exercise their rights as a consumer but to also be careful in making purchases to ensure they get the exact product they want.


Angeline Gonzalez, the Chief Trade and Industry Development Specialist of the DTI here, made her appeal as they conducted Wednesday a consumer empowerment seminar jointly with the Department of Energy (DOE) at a local hotel in this capital city. Gonzalez explained that


they merged the consumer empowerment seminar with the DOE’s three-day public consultation on product labeling, especially on electronic appliances, which ends Thursday, because energy is part of DTI’s consumer protection areas.


help consumers decide which particular appliance, such as a refrigerator or


BJMP searches jail; finds nothing


The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) conducted Oplan Linis Piitan inside the city jail facilities for men and women at Barangay Bajumpandan in Dumaguete City but did not find anything contraband or items that pose a threat to security and safety.


Product labeling will A key official of the


air conditioning unit, is the right one for them, especially if the item carries information on its energy efficiency rating (EER), she said.


The right to be informed is just one of the many consumers’ rights that DTI is advocating and promoting, Gonzalez said. According to her, when a


product is properly labeled, a consumer knows what to look for, saying “ a well- informed consumer is the best protected consumer”. A consumer also has the


right to safety and therefore product labeling will also ensure a customer’s safety when purchasing an appliance or other items that require EER labels, she said.


Dumaguete crimes drop


sellers who turn out to be fictitious or selling products that do not actually match what is advertised on social media.


Some customers come to their office to file a complaint but Gonzalez admitted that it is difficult for DTI to locate or contact the apparently illegitimate sellers, especially if they do not have a legal personality and do not provide proper business addresses.


nevertheless, welcomes any complaint filed with their office as a consumer has the right to redress.


The DTI official also noted that consumer rights must be exercised and observed especially with the advent of the digital age and where online marketing is now the trend. According to her, many people fall prey to online


that online selling has become a trend now, but people should verify first the background of the seller before making some purchases. The DTI official stressed that consumers must be responsible in making orders online, ensuring that it is a safe and legitimate transaction. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)


DOE conducts standards meet


Over a hundred participants from the different business establishments attended a three-day consultation in Dumaguete City last week on the Philippine Energy Standards and Labeling Program. The activity is organized by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Division, Energy Utilization Management Bureau of the Department of Energy in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry here. The consultation’s inputs will be used for the


Found on Monday were improvised heaters, improvised bladed weapons, lighters, spoons and fork, stones and empty bottles that are considered as nuisance for the female dormitory.


According to him, the DOE has a labeling program for appliances such as refrigerators and airconditioners so that consumers are provided with options in choosing the best appliance that would give them maximum energy efficiency or those that save on power usage. The first day is basically public consultation to help DOE


Strictly prohibited inside are cellphones, illegal drugs, bladed weapons and other contraband items, including the raising of cats and other animals. Jail warden Maj. Pricel Arevalo says Oplan Linis Piitan is in line with the National Correctional Consciousness Week (NACOCOW) which is celebrated all over the country. A lso known as


Operation Greyhound, Oplan Linis Piitan was also conducted to check on the worthiness of the facilities and spot cleaning of the surroundings. Noted during the spot inspection were television sets, which according to Warden Arevalo are being controlled as to the hours they are allowed to turn them on.


With a capacity of 200 detainees, the district jail in Bajumpandan already has 590 inmates with 89- 90 percent facing drugs charges.


the jail chapel is being utilized as a prisoners’ quarters and is vacated only during scheduled masses.


Due to the congestion,


yellow, that gives the EER (energy efficiency rating) of each unit but the DOE targets that all appliances can hopefully meet the requirement on labeling.


Some appliances already have a label, usually colored


implementing guidelines and minimum energy performance for commercial, industrial and transport sectors, said Antonio Labios, DOE Region 7 director, in an interview Tuesday afternoon.


Gonzalez pointed out She said DTI,


Police Office has reported that total crime volume from January to September this year dropped to 465 incidents from 777 crimes recorded in the same period in 2016.


Police Supt. Jovito Atanacio said that part of their strategies to reduce crime involved the deployment of personnel to crime- prone areas, conduct of checkpoints and barangay visitations, mobilization of intelligence volunteers, case build up and monitoring, strong coordination with prosecutors, and involvement of the community in the anti- crime drive. Of the 465 crime incidents (for the period January to September 2017), 209 cases were solved by the police registering 44.9% crime solution efficiency, an improvement compared to 40.5% for the same period (Jan to Sept. 2016) in which 315 of the 777 crime incidents were solved. In the same period this


Dumaguete City Chief of The Dumaguete City


year, 145 persons with warrants of arrest were taken into custody. The comparative index


crime volume distribution are as follows: theft, 425 cases in 2016 down to 242 in 2017; physical injuries, 154 in 2016 down to 105 in 2017; robbery, 119 in 2016 to 66 in 2017; motornapping, 47 cases in 2016 down to 25 in 2017; rape, 18 cases in 2016 to 10 in 2017; murder, 12 incidents in 2016 up to 16 in 2017; carnapping, 1 incident each in 2016 and 2017; and homicide, 1 in 2016, none in 2017.


prayer meeting


Muslim leaders hold


Some 130 Muslim religious scholars from different parts of the country attended the zonal maswara or johoor – a prayer meeting and seminar – at the private compound in Dauin, Negros Oriental, owned by the head of Muslim communities in the province.


Atanacio recommended that in order to sustain the campaign against crime, both the PNP and the city leadership must lobby for additional personnel, create a SWAT team, build more substations, implement the ordinance for the installation of high definition CCTVs in private establishments and public areas, logistical support for capabil ity enhancement of personnel, and increased allowance for policemen. (JCT/PIA7- Negros Oriental)


The activity was held Thursday and Friday with the participants being encouraged to echo what they have discussed during the “johoor” to their families when they return home. The participants come


from Iligan, Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Pagadian City, Ozamis City and Central Visayas, among others, and are convened at the private property of Sultan Tati.


The “johoor” was off limits to women, thus, only male reporters were allowed inside to observe the activities.


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in formulating a department circular on the implementing rules and regulations on the labeling program, Labios explained.


Labios said the responsibility of proper labeling rests on the manufacturer, the distributor and the seller. Participants include representatives from the local government units, dealers and owners of appliance stores, government agencies like the Department of Trade and Industry (a partner in the implementation of the program) and those from industrial and commercial establishments in Dumaguete.


Members of the city’s rescue teams led by Engr. Jose Chu also cleared the roads and streets from uprooted trees and other debris to improve public safety and help restore power during the onslaught of Typhoon Paolo. Mayor Felipe Antonio “Ipe” Remollo has deployed his private vans to improve the mobility of the rescue teams to answer request for emergency assistance. (Photo by PIO)


Smart holds media


safety drills Some 20 members of


For his part, Isagani Soriano, the OIC-Division Chief, Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory of the DOE, said that the energy labeling program for appliances was started in 1991 but covered only three-horsepower airconditioning units and excluding the inverter type. But now there is a new test method compatible to


international standards that may be used to test these inverter-type appliances.


Also covered by the energy labeling are LED lamps to protect consumers on the right products they would purchase, Soriano said. He encouraged the public to go for appliances with energy labels as it would mean they have been already tested and passed government standards. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)


Based on experience, Arevalo disclosed that cats are being used by inmates as counter measures for K9 dogs brought inside the jail to sniff for illegal drugs. He said that as soon as the K9 dogs are brought inside, the detainees would release their cats to distract the dogs because the instinct of the dog is to run after the cat, thus divert his attention


instead of sniffing illegal drugs.


It is for this reason that Arevalo has also prohibited inmates from bringing in cats. Arevalo also identified three gangs inside the district jail, namely, Batang Cebu, Batman and Batang City Jail. Members of the three gangs are distributed


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the Dumaguete tri-media completed on Tuesday a disaster preparedness orientation hosted by Smart Communications, Inc., held at a local hotel here. The activity is part of


Smart’s Tropang Ready Disast e r


Caravan, originally a series designed for campus tours to prepare and educate the youth on disaster readiness and to strengthen their disaster resilience. However, following the


recent massive flooding in Dumaguete City and nearby


wireless subsidiary, Smart Communications, decided to also provide the same orientation for the local media, said Atty. Ma. Jane Paredes, head of Public Affairs for the Visayas-Mindanao areas. “This is really a mini- orientation on disaster preparedness and we chose Dumaguete media because TO PAGE 10


towns, PLDT’s Prepa redne ss


LGUs urged to apply fishing laws


(LGUs) that benefit from the rich marine resources of the Tañon Strait are urged to strictly implement fisheries laws to protect and conserve marine resources. Oceana’s oceans campaign manager Danny Ocampo has reiterated the need to “highlight the importance of our marine resources in providing food security”. The fish conservation week,


which was held recently is an important event to highlight this, Ocampo said Wednesday afternoon in an interview. “In Tañon Strait, this is especially relevant for the 42 local government units of Cebu, Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental”, Ocampo stressed. Tañon Strait, declared by law as a Protected Seascape, by former President Fidel V. Ramos under Proclamation No. 1234 of 1998, separates the islands of Cebu and Negros. Oceana Philippines, a non-government international entity, is continuously working


Local government units


closely with government authorities in the strait on marine conservation and protection, and most especially in the campaign against illegal commercial fishing.


It is promoting the implementation of the law that mandates the use of Vessel Monitoring Measures (VMMs), a new technology that allows the real


tracking of fishing vessels. “Most Filipinos rely on the sea not only as a primary source of food and protein but also as a source of livelihood”, Ocampo noted.


time


“It is very important for fisheries laws to be implemented and compliance is encouraged from the fisheries sector”, Ocampo added.


Meanwhile, Oceana Philippines Vice-president Atty. Gloria-Estenzo Ramos was quoted as


“Let us honor and ensure compliance with our fisheries and environmental laws while mainstreaming science-based


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