It is only right that four stores which sold Chinese beauty products with labels that tagged Manila as a Province of China have been clumped by the authorities.
The tough but legal action of a seething Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso chased the letter to the Department of Trade and Industry of Rep. Jericho Nograles of the Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta party-list who recommended the blacklisting of Ashley Shine Keratin Treatment Deep Repair.
The photos of the imported products went viral earlier this week on social media, showing the label that listed the firm’s manufacturing address as “707 Sto. Cristo St. San Nicolas, Manila Province, P.R. China. MADE IN P.R.C.”
Never mind that Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque had brushed off the mislabeling of the Philippine capital as “nonsense” and that it was not the first time the country was associated with the tag “province of China.”
The “Philippines province of China” geotag appeared on social media and earned tongue-lashing from Filipinos online earlier this year, only two years after tarpaulins screamed in foot bridges of Manila “Welcome to the Philippines, Province of China”—after Manila won an arbitration case against Beijing in the Permanent Court Arbitration in The Hague in 2016.
Earlier on, President Rodrigo Duterte, in a display of his own levity when he quoted Chinese President Xi Jinping as assuring him the Chinese would not build any structure in Scarborough Shoal, suggested to China to make the Philippines part of its territory, a line that quickly earned from many Filipinos the yuck factor.
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.
We stress the obvious that this mislabeling cannot just be dismissed as a simple error, high in the persuasion the Chinese manufacturer might have done this could have been intentional.We agree with legal minds that any act to sabotage Philippine sovereignty must be taken seriously post-haste.”
We note that Domagoso has also requested the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the operations of the business firm, Elegant Fumes Beauty Products Inc., which he ordered chained.
In a letter addressed to NBI director Eric Distor dated August 20, Moreno said, "We are requesting that an investigation be conducted on the business operations of EFPBI and if warranted, cause the filing of criminal complaints against the corporation and its officers and/or incorporation.”
"We are looking forward to your prompt response on this matter. We are willing to submit relevant documents in our possession which may aid your office in the investigation," Domagoso said.
We are rather distressed that there are hard as nails people in the capital, callous in the metaphorical sense for being unmoved by the sensitivities of majority of the 110 million people, who are irritated and angered, the presidential joke notwithstanding.
Domagoso was on the right track when he said the erroneous labels add up to misrepresentation and can be the basis for the establishments’ automatic closure.
We join the rest of our countrymen in being revolted by this loathsome misbranding.
