Shoddy steel bars sold in hardware stores in Cordilleras, claims group

The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (Pisi) said it has found some substandard steel bars being sold in several hardware stores in Baguio City, Benguet, Mountain Province and Ifugao.

In a statement, Pisi said it filed a report with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that the substandard concrete reinforcing steel bars (rebars) were used mainly to build homes.

Pisi said it conducted market monitoring and “test buy” operations in 12 hardware stores in these provinces early this year.

Pisi said the Metals Industry Research and Development Center had confirmed there were substandard rebars proliferating in these areas, many of which were found to be underweight, with low elongation and/or undersized.

“The substandard rebars are definitely unsafe to use. The burden and great effect would be for the end-users and/or consumers who will use the substandard rebars without their due knowledge,” said Pisi vice president for technical affairs Joel Ronquillo in his report to the DTI.

Ronquillo offered Pisi’s services to the DTI “to stop the deceitful selling practice of some hardware stores and prevent the proliferation of substandard reinforcing steel bars in the market.”

To address the problem, he suggested the DTI could conduct a nationwide market monitoring and standards enforcement campaign and file cases against erring hardware store owners and local manufacturers.