CEBU CITY — The Cebu City Council Wednesday asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to launch a massive campaign that will prevent stores and retailers from selling substandard Christmas lights.

During the City Council regular session Thursday, Councilor Arsenio Pacaña raised the issue of substandard Christmas lights being sold in stores and by sidewalk vendors around the city.

These substandard Christmas lights, he said, have been linked to fire incidents in the past.

In his resolution, Pacaña urged the DTI and the BFP to monitor stores selling Christmas decorations to ensure that these substandard Christmas lights will not get into the hands of the public.

Pacaña asked that consumers buy only products with tamper-proof Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) stickers issued by the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards.

These stickers, printed in special genuine holographic security film are designed to curb, if not totally eliminate the proliferation of uncertified products in the market which did not go through Bureau of Product Standard safety and quality standards.

DTI 7 Director Asteria Caberte earlier reiterated the DTI warning on substandard Christmas lights, especially those that have not passed quality standards and those with tiny wires.

"We must warn the public from buying cheap Christmas lights because it only means that the quality of the product is not good," said Caberte.

DTI said Christmas lights are regulated products.

Under the Product Certification Scheme of the DTI-Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS), a regulated product or a product covered by mandatory certification is submitted to the BPS Testing Center or any BPS-recognized laboratory for a series of tests, prior to distribution or sale in the market.

Only those manufacturers and importers whose products pass the safety and quality requirements of a specific standard are issued with a BPS License for locally-made products and the ICC Certification for imported products.