CEBU CITY – The Cebu City Council Monday asked the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) to launch a massive campaign against stores and retailers selling substandard Christmas lights.

During the Council’s regular session Monday, 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 suggested that consumers should only buy products with tags from the DTI’s Bureau of Product Standards which adopt tamper-proof Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) stickers.

DTI uses the tamper-proof ICC sticker printed in special genuine holographic security film which aims to curb, if not totally eliminate the proliferation of products in the market uncertified by the Bureau of Product Standards.

DTI 7 Director Asteria Caberte earlier reiterated a warning against substandard Christmas lights, especially lights that have not passed quality standards and those that have 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 that is covered by the 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 manufacturers and importers whose products pass the safety and quality requirements of a specific standard are issued with a PS License for locally-made products and the ICC Certification for imported products.