Consumers warned on substandard angle bars

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Product Safety and Quality Foundation Inc. (PPSQS) has warned the Cebuanos to be careful in buying imported steel angle bars, saying some of these may not have passed the quality test of the government.

“We are warning the Cebuanos to exercise prudence in buying steel angle bars. Uncertified angle bars did not go through proper testing so they are hazardous to life and property, PPSQS executive director Ma. Victoria Padilla said.

PPSQS is a non-stock, non-profit foundation that provides Philippine industries with the highest quality resource of quality programs and project and assist in making available resources that the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standard (DTI-BPS) needs to ensure that only safe and reliable products will be made available in the Philippine market.

In a press conference held yesterday, Padilla said some unscrupulous importers use fake import commodity clearance certificates (ICC) to convince buyer hardware stores that their products have passed the proper testing.

ICC is a document specifying compliance of imported products, especially those products covered by mandatory standards, with applicable standards, as provided for by Republic Act 4109.

Under the law, importers of critical commodities including angle bars are required to have their products tested before they could secure ICC certificates and sell in the domestic market.

Steel Angles, Shapes and Sections Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (SASSMAPI) vice president for external relations Ramon Tan said the use of substandard construction materials such as steel angle bars is one of the reasons of many construction-related accidents that took lives.

“For example, steel angle bars are primary component of the roof, the function of this material is very vital because this holds the roof. Substandard steel angle bars use only wire rods, which are used for nails, for raw materials. These are not strong enough. If they are underweight or undersized, accidents will surely happen,” he said.

PPSQS’ Padilla said it is hard to monitor and correct the quality of imported steel angle bars because their manufacturers are not in the country.

“(For us) It would be safer to buy from the local manufacturers because their production is constantly monitored by the government,” she said.

Meanwhile, Tan said these companies also have their name to protect that is why they would not dare produce and distribute substandard products. Locally-produced steel products usually bear the name and logo of the manufacturer in embossed marking.

SASSMAPI has seven members, which are wholly-Filipino owned. These are 21st Century Steel Mill Inc., Cathay Metal Corp., Grand Asia Metal Corp., Legacy Steel Corp., Lunar Steel Corp., Maxima Steel Mills Corp. and Unicorn Metal Corp.