The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is intensifying its information drive on the standards on steel as it seized P110 million mislabeled products in Davao City.
DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo said the agency sealed about 177,000 units of threaded Black Iron and Galvanized Iron (BI/GI) steel pipes labeled as fence tubes during warehouse inspection in Davao City in a two-day operations last month.
According to Castelo, fence tubes are for scaffoldings with different chemical composition and should not have threaded ends. BI/GI steel pipes are used for water to drink.
“This is not just mislabelling, it’s a deceptive act. A deceptive act or practice by a seller or supplier in connection with a consumer transaction violates the Republic Act No. 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines,” Castelo said. The act or practice of a seller or supplier is deceptive when it represents that a consumer product or service is of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model when in fact it is not.
Castelo the DTI would exercise its authority to inspect warehouses to ensure that consumer products being distributed to different hardware stores/retailers.
Castelo and her team under the Consumer Protection Group together with the Philippine Association of Black Iron and Galvanized Iron Pipes and Tubes Manufacturers Inc. on June 21 held a one-day information campaign on the new standard for steel pipes in Davao City.
Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 19-16, Series of 2019, or “The New Technical Regulations Concerning the Mandatory Product Certification of Steel – Black and Hot-Dipped Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) Longitudinally Welded Steel Pipes (For Ordinary Uses),” was issued in December 2019 in response to calls of promoting consumer safety amidst the influx of black and galvanized steel pipes importation.
It has been supplemented by Memorandum Circular (MC) Nos. 22-08 and 22-14 which gave emphasis on the inclusion of light steel tubes and MC No. 23-07 issued on June 15 mandating manufacturers to apply for certification from from December 16 this year o June 15, 2024. Market monitoring and enforcement were set to commence on June 16, 2024.
