Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko” Domagoso on Thursday ordered the closure of several establishments at the Divisoria Mall for selling beauty products which listed its Manila address as a “province” of China.
Manila Business and Licensing Office head Levi Facundo said the establishments were all owned by a company named Elegant Fumes Beauty Products, Inc.
The said company sells the hair care product “Ashley Shine Keratin Treatment Deep Repair” that labelled its address in Binondo, Manila as a “province of People’s Republic of China.”
In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque dismissed the incident as a handiwork of opponents of the government.
“To me that’s nonsense. We should not be paying any attention to that,” Roque said.
He said this should not be taken seriously, adding “Nobody believes that we are a province of China because we all know that every Filipino loves the country,” he added.
“We are proud to be Filipinos and we will never allow to be subjugated by any foreign body,” Roque said.
Facundo said Domagoso ordered the establishments’ closure for violation of city ordinances.
“That is a misrepresentation…our permit is not for Binondo in China that is a major insult to us and we will not allow that,” Facundo said, adding they have not determined as yet the nationality of the owner of the firm.
Facundo said they had coordinated with the mall operator to not allow the establishments to reopen until they coordinated with the city government.
Earlier, PBA party-list Representative Jericho Nograles called on authorities to investigate and blacklist the Chinese beauty product distributed locally after it labelled its Manila address as a “province” of China.
Nograles said he had asked the Department of Trade and Industry and the Food and Drug Administration to investigate the matter and urged lawmakers to penalize mislabeling on consumer products.
Nograles said the mislabeling of the Chinese manufacturer could have been deliberate.
“It is hard to dismiss this insult as a simple error,” Nograles said. “The label clearly shows Manila, as a province of China. This incident must be investigated at the very least, and the manufacturer and importer should be blacklisted, as soon as legally permitted.”
Nograles said this incident should also prompt Congress to craft legislation that would penalize mislabeling on consumer products.
In 2018, banners bearing the message “Welcome to the Philippines, Province of China” were spotted hanging on several pedestrian overpasses in time for the second anniversary of the Philippines’ sweeping victory against China in the arbitration case involving the disputed South China Sea.
