CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Seven business establishments in Northern Mindanao received the Gold Bagwis Seal – the highest recognition in the Bagwis Awards – from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Region 10 during a ceremony in this city on Tuesday, October 24.
REPRESENTATIVES of a company in Northern Mindanao receive the Bagwis award from the Department of Trade and Industry-Region 10 during a ceremony in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday, October 24. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Awardees were North-Min Auto Dealership Inc./Isuzu and Chams Convenience Store-Bugo Branch in this city; Gaisano Grand Supermarket and Princity Inc./Prince Town in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental; Emcor Inc. and DBC Machineries Corporation in Iligan City, and Robinsons Supermarket Corp. in Ozamiz City, Misamis Occidental.
A Gold Bagwis Seal awardee has met the silver award requirements – compliance with Fair Trade laws, having a Consumer Welfare Desk (CWD) or an equivalent customer relations office inside the establishment, and social responsibility – with some aligned to ISO 9001 certification.
There were 22 Silver Bagwis Seal and 59 Bronze Bagwis Seal awardees from all over the region, bringing the total to 88 recognitions awarded, which is 26 percent higher than the number of Bagwis awardees in 2022, said DTI-10 Director Ermedio Abang in his welcoming message during the ceremony.
“This means that business establishments continue to upgrade their services to better cater to customer needs,” Abang added.
These awarded establishments are composed of supermarkets, department stores and specialty stores, appliance centers, hardware stores, and DTI-accredited service and repair shops.
They were evaluated based on compliance with fair trade laws, customer relations, store management operations, a socially committed and responsible business sector, and ISO 9001 complaint.
REPRESENTATIVES from Department of Trade and Industry-Region 10 Bagwis awardees in Northern Mindanao take an oath of continual excellence during a ceremony in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday, October 24. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Fel Lester Brillantes, chief of the DTI-10 Consumer Protection Division, acknowledged the recognition bestowed by local government units to the agency’s simple awards to business establishments, citing Ordinance No. 17-6629 in Iligan City that provides fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to Bagwis awardees.
He disclosed that the DTI is currently crafting the rules and regulations for a system that aims to resolve customers’ concerns online.
The agency, Brillantes added, is pushing the retention of a provision that whenever there’s a complaint filed against Bagwis awardees, the DTI won’t immediately take action against the establishments but rather refer it back to them, considering that their redress mechanisms are already in place.
“Because we believe that simple consumer transactions are best resolved at the store level,” Brillantes said.
The DTI-Bagwis Awards, which were first launched in 2006 and were formerly known as the DTI Certified Establishments, are given to establishments that uphold the rights of consumers while practicing responsible business where consumers get the best value for money.
The initiative also promotes the establishment of Consumer Welfare Desks (CWDs) or an equivalent customer relations office inside the establishment, which will act as a mechanism for the prompt resolution of customer concerns and as a source of information for customers.