THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Central Luzon conducted its regular monitoring of construction materials recently as part of the Special Monitoring and Enforcement of Substandard Construction Material activity.
Personnel of DTI provincial offices made surprise visits to hardware stores and warehouses in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Bataan to ensure that no substandard equipments get sold in the market.
According to DTI, the standard size of 12mm steel bars must be six meters in height and must have a weight of 5.0083 kilograms to 5.6477 kilograms, while 10mm steel bars must be 3.472 kilograms to 3.9177 kilograms, and 8.89992 kilograms to 10.03608 kilograms for 16mm steel bars.
In Bulacan province, DTI personnel checked if the steel bars and cement that are being sold by hardware stores in San Jose del Monte bear the authentic Philippine Standard mark.
This came after an influx of imported steel bars cements was monitored following the approval of several Import Commodity Clearance of several stores, said DTI Bulacan Inspecting Officer Jacinto Pulido.
The DTI Nueva Ecija Consumer Protection Division also inspected several establishments in the province, including hardware stores in Talavera and Zaragoza towns, wherein owners and sellers were informed of the importance of being knowledgeable of the products they are selling.
During the inspection in two provinces, hardware stores and warehouses visited were found compliant and no reported substandard construction materials were discovered and seized by DTI.
But the scenario was different in Bataan province, as DTI personnel found substandard 10mm steel bars in a hardware store in Balanga town during the separate inspection activity conducted.
The hardware store, which was not identified by the agency, was issued a notice of violation after a total of 62 10mm steel bars with the same brand name were found to be underweight or substandard.
“During our inspection, seven out of the 10 inspected samples of the steel bars did not reach the standard corresponding mass and was considered as non-conforming,” DTI Bataan Consumer Protection Division chief Connie Sanico told the store manager.
The said steel bars were sealed and shall be confiscated by DTI, while store owner or his representative was given 48 hours to appear at the DTI provincial office to explain the side of the establishment.