The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (Pisi) said it has appealed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to suspend the activities of its provincial office in Zambales for approving a “questionable” shipment of steel bars.
In a letter addressed to Trade Secretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr., Pisi Head Roberto Cola has sought for the temporary suspension of the DTI Zambales’s operations due to the allegedly dubious import clearance it has issued on some 466,000 pieces of deformed steel bars.
“We would like to question the validity of the import commodity clearance [ICC] granted by DTI Zambales Provincial Director Leonila T. Baluyut,” Cola said in his letter.
According to Cola, PISI’s objections were based on the understanding that Baluyut has no authority to issue the ICC but the Bureau of Product Standards director.
The ICC reportedly has no control number of traceability features and the company that received the certification had a “questionable background.””
The importer—a company called Mannage Resourcing Trading Corp.—has no track record of importing or even applying for permits to import steel reinforcing bar or other products requiring mandatory product certification, according to the letter.
Aside from the suspension of the provincial office’s activities, Pisi is also seeking to invalidate the ICC given to the company until its hearing with the Bureau of Customs on the safety issue has concluded.