MANILA, Philippines?Even the country?s Vice President and his chief of staff could be ?sales-talked? into buying two microwave ovens worth almost a total of P100,000.

Speaking on his radio program, ?Para Sa Iyo, Bayan,? Vice President Noli de Castro narrated how he and his chief of staff, lawyer Jesse Andres, were recently ?victimized? by Aowa agents when they bought some items?a mirror and compact fluorescent lamp?at the Home Depot on Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, located near their office.

As they were about to leave the appliance and hardware store, De Castro said sales agents of Aowa approached them with offers of free items provided they buy a ?high tech? microwave oven for P48,500.

?They had the gall to approach me?the Vice President. And they did it in front of Jesse, a lawyer. We were clueless about prices,? De Castro said in Filipino.

?They said if we buy a microwave oven, they will throw in stainless steel kitchenware, an electric multi-cooker, a water purifier, even a TV set. That?s their modus operandi. They?ll try to convince you with a lot of sales talk,? he said.

Out of curiosity, they decided to take the offer.

Cash or plastic?

When the sales agents asked De Castro and Andres for their credit cards, they opted to pay P10,000 each and asked them to go to the Office of the Vice President to collect the balance.

?They sent people to my office. We paid them in checks. They had a picture taken with me?a public official. So now, we have all the evidence,? De Castro said in Filipino.

The agents even showed the Vice President photos of themselves with other famous buyers like Sen. Edgardo Angara and former basketball star Alvin Patrimonio.

Duped

When they brought the products home, they found out they were overpriced and of poor quality.

?Jesse showed the items to his wife. He boasted that he bought them at bargain prices. His wife told him he had been duped,? the Vice President said.

De Castro is appealing to the owners of Home Depot, which has branches nationwide, to stop selling Aowa products and to stop victimizing unwitting consumers.

Closure order

Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya, a guest in the radio program, said the DTI had already issued a closure order against Aowa, as early as 2007 for deception and unfair business practices which violated the Consumers Act.

The company, however, challenged the order, and the case was pending before the Court of Appeals.

According to Maglaya, most of Aowa?s victims were male spouses and senior citizens. They complained of having paid anywhere from P17,000 to P48,000 for a package of appliances.

She also said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) started receiving complaints against Aowa in 2001 but some of the victims had withdrawn their complaints after they were refunded their money.

VP files a complaint

Aside from Aowa, three other companies were using the same modus operandi, Maglaya said, namely, Perfect Health, Homesonic and Arista.

She said the DTI had published advertisements in major newspapers warning the public against such deceptive practices.

De Castro also urged other victims to file their complaints with the DTI and refuse any settlement with the said companies.

?Jesse and I have joined the complainants and we will not stop until something is done,? he said.