'Buy local' during Christmas 

A consumer group encouraged the public to buy locally-made products during the Christmas season, instead of buying imported ones, to help Filipino entrepreneurs and local businesses hit hard by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

“In time of national crisis, we should rekindle our Bayanihan spirit and buy only products that are made in the Philippines, especially in time for the Christmas season,” the Alliance for Consumer Protection and Environment Inc. (ACAPE) said in a statement.

The group earlier launched an online campaign against fake goods from China, including unregistered medicine with Chinese labels found in “clandestine hospitals” that catered exclusively to Chinese COVID-19 patients.

The group said its call was in support of the Department of Trade and Industry’s #ShoPinas campaign which urges Filipinos to buy local goods and go to local establishments during the Christmas season.

”Support Filipino products and services. Resist buying fake Chinese goods. This is the only way to weather this crisis,” it said.

According to ACAPE, thousands of businesses in the country have closed down since the pandemic hit in March while some are struggling to open due to quarantine restrictions.

“We urge Filipinos to unite and support locally-made products and services so the money will stay in the Philippine and our economy will be able to survive in the pandemic,” the group said.

ACAPE also encouraged the public to support friends and relatives involved in online selling, saying that “it is very popular” during the pandemic.

”Support your friends, neighbors, and acquaintances by buying what they sell. Not only will you do them a favor but you will also sustain the local economy,” ACAPE said.

Earlier, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confiscated inauthentic versions of Chinese medicine Lian Hua Qing Weng capsules in Metro Manila and Central Luzon.

The FDA also warned health care professionals and the public against buying and using misbranded face mask products.

Last month, the Bureau of Customs confiscated P244 million-worth of smuggled, unregistered or counterfeit personal protective equipment (PPEs) and other medical supplies since late March up to the end of May.