The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) is calling for stricter monitoring and prompt prosecution of manufacturers and resellers of substandard steel products after undersized reinforced steel bars were discovered in hardware stores in Nueva Ecija and Pampanga.
In a statement, PISI president Roberto Cola cited a document by the Bureau of Product Standards (BPS) showing that substandard rebars were allegedly manufactured by two firms.
“It is crucial that we rein in the proliferation of inferior steel products in the country especially as the construction sector goes through a slump because of the coronavirus pandemic,” Cola said.
He said the market for construction has shrunk considerably, leading to cutthroat competition that makers of substandard steel products are exploiting.
“Some manufacturers and traders are taking advantage of quarantine restrictions and taking shortcuts that ultimately will harm the end-user,” said Cola.
Representatives from the steel industry have been doing test buys in areas suspected to have substandard rebars to protect the public and sending the collected samples to BPS for testing.
The Pampanga and Nueva Ecija test buys were done in June. BPS sent the samples to the government’s testing laboratory, the Metals Industry Research and Development Center, which released its adverse findings late last month.
These rebars were found to have failed to meet standards on mass variation and deformation requirement of Philippine National Standards, said Cola.
This means these products can cause failure in structures under stress, he said.
“Low mass variation is like asking someone to pay for 1 kilo of steel and only getting 900g,” said Cola.
Cola said what is needed now is to file consumer complaints against the manufacturers and retailers, and for consumer groups to work more closely with the government and the steel industry to stop a malpractice that has been a perennial curse to the construction sector.