DAVAO CITY – A consumer group here is calling out authorities regarding the presence of beauty products, which bear markings of “Manila Province P.R. China”, in markets here even after it was earlier announced that these were already pulled out from other markets in the country.
In a statement on Saturday, September 5, Pinoy Aksyon for Governance and the Environment (Pinoy Aksyon) said the product called Ashley Shine Keratin Treatment Deep Repair “has found its way to the Davao City market and elsewhere in the country.”
Pinoy Ako said it raised the matter with Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Partylist Representative Jericho Nograles.
In their letter to the lawmaker, the consumer group asked Nograles for a “deeper investigation into the entities behind this product being distributed by the Binondo, Manila-based Elegant Fumes Beauty Products, Inc. that listed our country as a “province of China.”
“We are sure you are as troubled as we are by the implications of the product’s packaging," it said.
"Beyond reinforcing our sovereignty, we also believe that such an investigation will also benefit consumers, as Chinese products have always been suspect prone to defects and may pose danger to the health of users and the environment,” it added.
Nograles, in his reply, said “the investigation with the national agencies are still ongoing.”
“I have confidence that they will be faithful to the law and their duties. Otherwise, that will be the only time that Congress can exercise its duties on oversight,” he added.
He said a “nationwide pullout of products from all department stores and major shopping outlets” was conducted on August 21.
Nograles said he wrote the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 19 regarding the Chinese beauty products sold in Davao after a Facebook post on it went viral on August 17.
“Both agencies begin investigations on the same day with the assistance of the NBI,” he added.
Nograles said he also called for the blacklisting of the store’s Facebook page which has now been taken down.
The FDA in Davao has yet to release its statement on the matter.