A bill mandating the placement of a Timbangan ng Bayan in all public and private markets, including supermarkets, has been filed in the Senate.

This “tamper-proof, heavy duty, constantly calibrated, conspicuously displayed” weighing scale will provide both buyers and sellers a “standard instrument for setting and validating weights,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, the bill’s author.

Recto said the mere presence of a Timbangan ng Bayan will deter the proliferation of defective weights.

“It will avoid those ‘tinimbang ka ngunit kulang’ moments for consumers who have been wittingly or unwittingly sold underweight goods,” he said.

Recto said that while most merchants are honest and use accurate weighing scales, there are still a few who resort to selling underweight products.

In some cases, faulty weighing scales are borne out of the absence of a standard that will verify their reading. “Minsan naman, hindi alam na sira ang timbangan kasi nga walang official weighing scale na pagbabatayan,” Recto said.

Recto said the Timbangan ng Bayan can also validate the claimed weight of products packed and canned in factories.

To be placed by the Department of Trade and Industry and the local government, the Timbangan ng Bayan shall be under the responsibility of the market or supermarket manager.