Philippine steel industry commits to intensify campaign against substandard rebars

The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) has committed to intensify its campaign against substandard and unmarked reinforced steel bars or rebars, after suspect rebars were found in hardware stores in Central Luzon.

In an emailed statement on Monday, PISI said it will intensify its test-buy operations and work closely with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to stop such malpractices.

"Some manufacturers and traders are taking advantage of quarantine restrictions and taking shortcuts that ultimately will harm the end-user," said PISI president Ronald Magsajo.

"Low mass variation, for instance, is like asking someone to pay for 1 kilo of steel and only getting 900 grams," he added.

The statement was released after unmarked rebars, along with rebars embossed with non-registered logos, were found from hardware stores.

PISI identified Real Steel and Philippine Koktai Metal as firms which sold undersized rebars in June after their materials failed to meet the Philippine National Standard (PNS) for rebar.

Samples were sent to the Bureau of Philippine Standards, which then sent them for testing by the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC).

"Based on MIRDC’s findings, the samples’ lug heights and mass variation did not conform with what the DTI requires to assure the integrity of the rebars for use in construction," said PISI.—AOL, GMA News