The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) said the market for steel rebars has shrunk considerably, leading to cutthroat competition that makers of substandard steel products are exploiting.

In a statement, PSI said they have unearthed yet another batch of steel bars that are either unmarked or had unregistered logos in central and northern Luzon.

“Needless to say, we are troubled by this occurrence (and) persistent menace”, PISI President Ronald Magsajo said in a letter to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The steel bars were purchased by a PISI monitoring team from two hardwares in La Union and Pampanga in October. Recent tests conducted on samples of steel products manufactured by a Davao manufacturer showed non-compliance with safety standards.

Magsajo said “there is reason to believe that similar unmarked and untraceable bars have found their way across other regions”, possibly smuggled into the country.

“We cannot overemphasize the dangers posed to lives and property by having noncompliant, untraceable bars in the market,” he said.

Magsajo added that this “potentially destructive practice” will also impact on the government’s “Buy Local” campaign.

This is not the first time that PISI has found unmarked rebars or with non-registered embossed logos.

Earlier in October, its inspection team discovered substandard rebars in hardware stores in Central Luzon manufactured by firms that were earlier cited for selling undersized rebars.

Their rebars failed to meet standards on mass variation, bending, lug height and diameter, and tensile and yield strength.

PISI has been stepping up its drive against substandard steel products, especially with the construction sector going through a slump because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The group said the market for construction has shrunk considerably. This led to cutthroat competition that makers of substandard steel products are exploiting, PISI said.