THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has suspended the standard license of SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp.—the country’s largest steelmaker—and five others for allegedly producing substandard steel bars.
Debunking the claim of an industry group that the government failed to take action against producers of substandard rebars, the DTI last year suspended the Philippine Standard (PS) licenses of six steel manufacturers for failing the independent testing commissioned by the DTI’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) from the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC).
These steel manufacturers are SteelAsia’s Bulacan plant, Maxima Steel Mills Corp., Henro Steel Corp., Cathay Metal Corp., Somico Steel Mill Corp. and Sagarthama Steel Trading Corp.
According to the DTI, SteelAsia was found to have been manufacturing deformed steel bar; Maxima, deformed steel bar and equal leg angle bar; and Henro, rerolled steel bar. On the other hand, the DTI accused Cathay of making equal leg angle bar; Somico, rerolled steel bar; and Sagarthama, deformed steel bar.
The suspension order resulted from unannounced surveillance audits conducted by the BPS last year on numerous steel manufacturing plants around the country.
Samples obtained from these audits that were subjected to MIRDC tests proved that these six steel manufacturers were not compliant with the standards indicated in Philippine National Standard 49, Series of 2002, the DTI reported. PS licenses will remain suspended until the violator complies with the PNS.
In a statement, SteelAsia said the DTI findings of substandard steel were only found in the Meycauayan Mill 2 and for selected sizes only, namely, 10-mm and 12-mm Grade 230 rebars.
“Corrective measures were immediately put in place and the affected rebar lot destroyed. We are confident our Meycauayan Mill 2 will be declared fully compliant by the BPS shortly,” the firm said.
Megawide, Petron, Remington
Meanwhile, the BPS denied the issuance of import commodity clearances (ICC) for deformed steel bars and equal leg angle bars imported by Megawide Construction Corp., Petron Corp. and Remington Industrial Sales Corp., valued at over P68 million.
The deformed steel bars bought by Megawide were denied issuance of ICC due to noncompliance with PNS, while those shipped by Petron had no proper markings.
Remington Industrial Sales Corp., on the other hand, has no valid PS license for the importation of equal leg angle bars. All these imported steel bars were either destroyed or returned to their country of origin.
Also last year, Wan Chiong Steel Corp. was found to be producing deformed steel bars not covered by the scope of their PS license.
After hearing out Wan Chiong and the filing of formal charges, the DTI’s Fair Trade Enforcement Bureau (FTEB) issued a decision in November of last year ordering the Pampanga-based firm to pay a penalty of P450,000. Wan Chiong was previously suspended for five months for noncompliance with PNS.
Similarly, Dragon Asia Rolling Mills was found to be manufacturing steel that is not covered by the scope of their PS license. A formal charge against the company has been filed by the FTEB and the case is now up for decision.
Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said his agency sanctioned a total of 42 retailers and manufacturers of steel, and vowed it will stop at nothing in going after violators of product standard and consumer welfare laws.
“For the whole of 2019, the DTI penalized a total of 42 retailers and manufacturers of steel—a clear contrast to the claim of a product safety and quality group that the department failed to charge violating steel manufacturers and traders for substandard steel products,” Lopez said in a statement on Tuesday.
“The DTI stops at nothing in tracking down unscrupulous businesses and ensuring that violators are dealt with to the highest and fullest extent of the law. The protection of consumers is our utmost priority, and we remain steadfast in our commitment,” he added.
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Is steel asia still suspended