SAGADA, Mountain Province – The municipal government condemned the unscrupulous practice of some businessmen in other areas in the country in the deceptive use of the ‘Sagada orange’ as a branding for the oranges that they sell even if the same are imported ones.
Mayor Felicito Dula, stated that that the mislabeling of imported oranges as ‘Sagada orange’ is uncalled for because traders are deceiving the buyers, especially tourists, into believing that their products truly came from Sagada when in fact, they are imported ones or those that come from other orange-producing areas in the country.
He claimed that the mislabeled ‘Sagada oranges’ look totally different from the oranges that are produced in the municipality where its harvest season is during October up to March every year.
The local chief executive disclosed that there are actually 6 varieties of oranges that are produced in the municipality. These are the Ponkan Mandarin, Satsuma Mandarin, Valencia Orange, Hamlin Orange, Washington Navel Orange and Clementine Tangerine. The variety that he showed to the media is Satsuma Mandarin.
Dula presented to the members of the media the Satsuma mandarin which thrives best in the locality and is one of the popularly produced orange variety in the locality.
The mayor expressed hope that by showing the various orange varieties to the public, people will learn to decipher the real ‘Sagda orange’ from those that are being sold in the various markets around the country.
He advised the people to scrutinize the oranges that they are buying from traders to ensure that they are purchasing the real ‘Sagda orange’ which will be readily available from October to early March every year.
The alderman stipulated that tourists or even ordinary buyers deserve to know the genuine products that they are buying from the traders because mislabeling the ones being sold will not actually help in promoting the product but will in turn result to dis-satisfaction that may cause problems for the businessmen in the future, especially when the buyers will learn the real product that they are buying.
Sagada is one of the major tourist destinations in Northern Luzon being frequented by foreign and domestic tourists because of its natural attractions like caves, waterfalls, rice terraces that entice people to make the mystical town a must-see destination.
He urged tourists and buyers to be circumspect in buying local products so that they will not be enticed by unscrupulous businessmen in buying mislabeled products for them to be able to have the real value for the money that they will spend for the same.
He also called on concerned local governments to also help in monitoring the authenticity of the labelling of the products that are being sold in their respective areas of jurisdiction to ensure that tourists and even ordinary buyers will not be shortchanged by enterprising traders who resort to mislabeling just to be able to earn a big income at the expense of the mislabeled products.
The mayor suggested that a massive crackdown on unscrupulous traders should be done to teach them a lesson not to mislabel their products to be able to earn the trust and confidence of residents and tourists in patronizing their products.
