CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has suspended the Philippine Standard (PS) licenses of six steel manufacturing plants, including two based in Central Luzon.

The manufacturing plants, namely, Steel Asia Manufacturing Corporation and Henro Steel Corporation -- both located in Meycauayan, Bulacan -- Maxima Steel Mills Corporation, Cathay Metal Corporation, Somico Steel Mill Corporation, and Sagarthama Steel Trading Corporation, were suspended for failing the independent testing commissioned by the DTI-Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) from the Metals Industry Research and Development Center.

DTI-Central Luzon said the suspension order resulted from unannounced surveillance audits conducted by the BPS in 2019 on various steel manufacturing plants in the country.

"Samples culled from these audits that were subjected to testing by the MIRDC proved that these six steel manufacturers were not compliant with the standards indicated in Philippine National Standard (PNS) 49, Series of 2002," it said.

DTI added that the suspension of licenses will remain in effect until the steel manufacturers comply with the PNS.

It can be recalled that in September 2019, Wan Chiong Steel Corporation, located in San Simon town in Pampanga, was found to be manufacturing deformed steel bars that are not covered by the scope of their PS license.

After due process and filing of formal charge, the DTI-Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau issued a decision last November 2019 for said steel manufacturing company to pay an administrative penalty amounting to P450,000.

The same steel manufacturer was also subsequently suspended for five months for non-compliance with PNS 49.