Steel manufacturers have asked the Bureau of Product Standards to investigate what the proliferation of substandard angle bars sold in Rizal and Laguna provinces.
In a letter , the Steel Angles, Shapes and Sections Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (SASSMPI) reported to BPS it found defective samples among angle bars sold in 14 out of 46 hardware stores it surveyed in Rizal and Laguna.
Up to 61 percent of the samples taken during test buys did not comply with safety guidelines in terms of mass or weight, the group warned.
The samples were either unmarked or carried the logos identifying the manufacturers.
“The results of testing in both test buys are alarming as the majority of angle bars tested failed in mass (weight),” said SASSMPI president Ramon Tan.
Tan urged BPS chief Neil Catajay to audit the facilities of the steel makers.
Stakeholders of the steel industry have been unearthing steel products being sold across the country that fail to meet government quality standards set to ensure public safety.
“This confirms our earlier fears of a proliferation of substandard, non-compliant steel in the local market” Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) president Ronald Magsajo said.
PISI itself has discovered unmarked, substandard reinforced bars, or rebars, sold across Central and Northern Luzon.
The latest ones were found in Pampanga and La Union in October.
