Photo courtesy of PNP
A warehouse operation in Plaridel led to the seizure of 150 foam mattresses worth about Php 700,000 and the arrest of a woman accused of selling products that allegedly failed government labeling standards.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group said the operation was carried out at around 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 in Barangay Sipat, with personnel from the Department of Trade and Industry and local police taking part.
Authorities said the mattresses were being sold despite allegedly lacking required consumer information under existing DTI rules.
Investigators cited Section 77 of Republic Act No. 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, which requires consumer goods to carry identifying and product-related information such as the manufacturer or importer, country of origin, date of manufacture and material composition.
Police said the missing or incomplete labels raised traceability concerns because regulators and consumers may have difficulty identifying those responsible if a product later causes harm or fails safety standards.
The woman was arrested during the buy-bust operation, while the seized mattresses were taken into custody for documentation and proper disposition.
The CIDG said the case formed part of enforcement efforts against the trade of goods that do not meet consumer protection requirements.
The suspect was not identified, and the alleged violations remain subject to investigation and due process.