CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija – Some 467 deformed steel bars were destroyed at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial office compound here on Monday, Feb. 7.
Bobby Faronilo, Chief Trade and Development Specialist of DTI-Nueva Ecija, said the steel bars were confiscated from a hardware store in Santa Rosa town, this province in November 2020.
"Ito kasing mga steel bars na ito ay hindi naging compliant doon sa standard na tinalaga ng ating Bureau of Philippine Standards (These steel bars did not comply with the standards set by the Bureau of Philippine Standards)," Faronilo said in an interview.
"Ang ibig sabihin po nito, pag ito ay nagamit sa isang istruktura lalo na sa paggawa ng bahay, ginagamit po kasi ito sa mga column, poste, biga, ito ay pwedeng bumigay at makamatay ng kapwa natin tao (It means that if these steel bars are used in a structure especially in building a house because these are being used for columns, posts, beams, so when it's deformed, it might collapse and could kill people)," he added.
Faronilo said the DTI has been very strict in implementing laws with regard to the standards of products, including steel bars because they involve the safety of the people.
Acting DTI–Nueva Ecija Provincial Director Richard Simangan said it took time before the steel bars were finally destructed due to adjudication and auditing processes.
On the advice of the Commission on Audit, Simangan said the steel bars were physically numbered before the documented destruction.