THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it will more strictly enforce the penalties for producing and selling substandard steel.
In a statement on Monday, Assistant Trade Secretary Agaton Teodoro O. Uvero said that confirmed violators of Republic Act 4109, or the Standards Law, are liable have their Philippine Standard (PS) Licenses suspended or revoked.
Mr. Uvero made his remarks following the results of a market test-buy conducted by the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI), the industry association.
The PISI said rebar samples taken from over 15 hardware stores in the first two months failed to meet industry norms for mass variation and elongation.
Meanwhile, angle bars sampled from two manufacturers in Cavite and Cebu on Feb. 28 and March 18 were found to have been substandard.
The PISI sent the summary of the random market test purchases of rebar and angle bars to the DTI on April 7.
Mr. Uvero said that the DTI is conducting store and plant visits to check compliance with the Philippine National Standards, and auditing PS licensees. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
