Director Victorio Mario A. Dimagiba of the Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection should look into the compliance of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Administrative Order No. 10, which requires stores to have the same price for credit card and cash purchases.

 

Filipinos seem to conveniently forget rules and regulations, unless they are reminded with a warning that they would be penalized for their “memory lapse.”

 

Some stores have started imposing different prices for products, especially appliances and gadgets, by giving “cash discounts.”

 

I was reminded of the administrative order by my Citibank credit card bill. The reminder appears to be a project of the Credit Card Association of the Philippines, although I have not seen it in another credit card bill.

 

Last month, Philips had a sale on some of its products. I have been wanting to get its airfryer, so I took advantage of the sale. I first went to a popular appliance chain but was told I could get the discount only if I pay in cash.

 

I decided to look around first and finally got it at Robinsons Department Store for the same price, using a credit card and payable in six months at zero-percent interest.

 

Feedback

 

It seems many people feel that San Juan Councilor Angelo Agcaoili’s initiative to have a city ordinance that will penalize motorists who ignore pedestrian lanes is long overdue.

 

Victoria San Agustin says, “Try crossing Doña Soledad in Better Living, Parañaque… It’s horrible!”

 

Lauris Gecain, a Filipino working in Japan, says, “I hope and pray that there will be a national law giving priority to pedestrians and penalizing motorists who will not give way.”

 

In Japan, pedestrians and bikers are treated with respect, and motorists have to pay hefty fines if they injure anyone who is on foot or riding a bicycle, she adds.

 

Carmela V. Zabala says government officials should experience firsthand what it’s like to be a pedestrian in this country by walking on the streets, noting that people have to walk in the middle of the road because sidewalks have been turned into marketplaces.

 

She says she has submitted recommendations to Pasig City Mayor Robert Eusebio, furnishing Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas and Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya copies on how to make streets safer for pedestrians, but did not get the courtesy of an acknowledgment, much less a reply.

 

Zabala says that to know more about their recommendations, people can visit https://iminlab.wordpress.com/2013/01/30/10-ideas-for-change-in-the-philippines-transport-system/.

 

Effective campaign

 

I was in Davao City recently, and during the three days I was there, I did not see a single smoker on the street. I do not think all smokers in Davao have quit. I think they just decided to smoke in places where they can be assured of privacy to avoid the hassle—and the consequences—of smoking in public.

 

Even visitors do not seem to mind not getting their nicotine fix for long periods of time. You do not get to smell the lingering scent of tobacco anywhere you go.

 

I also learned that you do not have to ask a taxi driver for change. He will immediately give it to you down to the last centavo, if necessary.

 

Being in Davao—and Puerto Princesa City, too—always convinces me that what we need for real progress are local officials with the political will to implement laws.

 

 

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle Section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, 1098 Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., 1204 Makati City; fax 8974793/94; or e-mail [email protected].