DTI revokes licenses of 127 contractors

The Department of Trade and Industry issued yesterday a warning against the hiring of contractors whose licenses have been revoked or suspended.

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II said their licenses were revoked to protect the public from risks of substandard construction by unscrupulus or inefficient contractors.

The DTI, as of July this year, has revoked the lincenses of 127 contractors and suspended 19.

The DTI has coursed the revocation and suspension through the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB), an attached DTI agency. It processes contractors’ license applications.

According to PCAB rules, a contractor’s license may be revoked or suspended due to any of the following offenses: job abandonment, misrepresentation of sustaining technical employees (STEs) and submission of spurious documents.

The PCAB has adopted a set of penalties or "table of disqualifications" for persons who work as STE in more than one construction firm at the same time.

According to PCAB, an STE is a full-time job and employment in more than one contractor increases the risk of substandard construction.

STEs are architects and engineers employed by construction contractors to support the firm’s application for license with PCAB.