Industry leaders find substandard steel bars in Mindanao market

MANILA, Philippines — A steel industry group said it found substandard steel bars also flooding markets in Mindanao, posing risks to the public.

The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (Pisi) said the findings were from random test buys in Mindanao last September, just a few weeks after finding the same problem in its July test buys in northern Luzon.

“Based on the information gathered from the test buys, the inferior rebars are enough to build more than 10,000 houses per month, putting at risk up to 30,000 people,” Pisi said in a statement on Saturday.

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The government-recognized institution, which represents the local iron and steel industry, said they bought at random rebars from Sept. 9 to Sept. 13 from hardware stores in various provinces in Mindanao.

These include stores in Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Maguindanao provinces, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte, Samal Island, Cotabato City, Pagadian City and Iligan City.

It said that the purchased rebars, which failed the laboratory tests, carried the markings of products supposedly manufactured by three Mindanao-based companies. In particular, the products were found to have failed to meet minimum standard requirements for weight and are prone to brittleness, said Pisi.

Following its finding, the Pisi said it has stepped up its campaign against inferior steel rebars and has urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to conduct a surveillance audit of the companies involved. Pisi has been conducting the test buys in coordination with DTI to promote public safety.

Last June, DTI seized close to P30 million worth of steel products in Davao City and Laguna that did not meet quality and safety standards. —Alden M. Monzon