Institute supports gov't campaign against substandard steel 

The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) agreed to continue supporting the government crackdown on substandard steel, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

In a statement Thursday, PISI president Ronald Magsajo said the group will continue to conduct test buys across the country to identify stores that sell substandard steel products.

Over the past years, PISI initiated its own test buy activities and coordinated with the government, particularly the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to crack down on manufacturers and sellers of substandard, deformed, and re-rolled steel products.

“The institute remains to be an advocate and industry partner in promoting safety and adherence to Philippine national standards,” Magsajo said.

He said substandard steel products still proliferate in the local market and this poses risk to public safety.

“This is especially worrisome, as the Philippines is prone to natural disasters. Just recently, we saw a magnitude 7 earthquake rock the northern regions in Luzon. We can only imagine the scale of destruction when low-quality steel products make their way into homes, buildings, bridges, and other infrastructures,” Magsajo added.

Through the test buy activities of PISI in 16 provinces last year, it found 35 stores selling substandard steel products.

PISI also discovered that 27 out of 130 assorted steel rebars failed quality tests.

PISI coordinated with the Bureau of Philippine Standards to initiate necessary actions against the violators.