Surge in faulty steel imports seen in Visayas, Luzon

The destruction wrought by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013 spurred an increase in construction activity that also led to a surge in steel importation. —INQUIRER PHOTO

Government regulators had been asked to tighten the watch for substandard steel products from China as a group checking imported steel and steel products for safety raised an alert for what appears to be a surge in the entry into Philippine markets of Chinese-made but substandard steel.

In Central Visayas, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it would investigate reports about the proliferation of uncertified and substandard angle bars in the provinces of Cebu, Negros Oriental and Siquijor.

Zaide Bation, chief of the regional DTI office’s consumer welfare and business regulation division, said while the office had not yet received a formal complaint, “we will do something about it.”

Bation said the regional DTI office could conduct random test buys from hardware stores in the region.

“For now, all we have are allegations,” she said. “That is why we need to investigate.”

Test buys

Ramon Tan, vice president for external affairs of the Steel Angles, Shapes and Sections Manufacturers Association of the Philippines Inc. (Sassmap), had written DTI offices in Western Visayas, Negros Occidental and Central Visayas to alert them about the sale of uncertified and substandard angle bars.

An angle bar is a metal bracket in the form of a right angle. It is made of galvanized steel and is often used in masonry or applied to different surfaces through welding or drilling.

Tan said in his letters that his group conducted test buys in different hardware stores in the provinces of Cebu, Negros Oriental and Siquijor and the cities of Iloilo, Bacolod and Cebu.

In letters to DTI offices in Negros Oriental, Iloilo and Cebu City, Tan said his group conducted test buys in 21 hardware stores and found a total of 54 angle bars to be substandard and uncertified, meaning they were not tested by government agencies.

Proliferation

“The proliferation of uncertified angle bars in addition to those found to be substandard is very alarming,” said Tan in a letter to DTI Central Visayas dated Aug. 16, 2017.

In Luzon, the DTI said it found at least 56 hardware stores in two provinces—Pangasinan and La Union—to be selling not only substandard steel but also other uncertified construction and electrical products.

Joyce Sabado, DTI Ilocos region information officer, said 25 of the erring establishments were found in Pangasinan while the rest in La Union.

Marjury Loresco, trade and industry consumer division chief of DTI Pangasinan, said that as of Aug. 11, at least 73 products required mandatory certification.

These included electrical and electronic products, lamp and related products, wiring devices, mechanical and construction materials and chemical and other consumer products.

In his letters to the DTI, Tan said a test buy made by his group in Tarlac province on June 30 found five angle bars to be substandard.

Tan said in his letter to Assistant Trade Secretary Ernesto Perez that the manufacturers of the recently tested steel products found to be substandard were the same ones that sold these kinds of products in the past.

In Southern Tagalog, contractors and scaffolding manufactures said the entry of Chinese steel boomed in the aftermath of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013.

Thinner pipes

As a result of the massive destruction in Eastern Visayas, the demand for steel also increased.

Owen Abamongga, owner of a small scaffolding manufacturer in Cavite province, said the boom in construction came with the surge of China-made iron pipes.

Abamongga said although Chinese-made pipes were cheaper at P400 per piece, these were soon found to be “thinner.”

“We used to buy these China pipes but we realized there could be safety issues,” he said. “It’s like snapping your finger into a tin can.”

In 2014, the DTI and police raided at least two hardware stores selling the substandard pipes. One was in Cabuyao City in Laguna province and the other in Trece Martires City in Cavite.