The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), through the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS), has ordered the destruction of P737,000 worth of thermoplastic insulated wires and cables in Marikina City to prevent the sale and distribution of these substandard electrical wiring materials in the local market.
According to the BPS, the Philippines’s national standards body, the substandard products were found “non-conforming to the elongation and flame retardance requirements” set by the Philippine National Standards (PNS) 35-1:2004 (electric wires and cables-thermoplastic-insulated copper wires and cables rated 600 volts-Part 1: General specifications) as confirmed by the third-party testing.
The standards body described elongation as the measure of the length that a wire may be stretched before snapping, while flame retardance is a wire’s capacity to prevent a flame from spreading once it catches fire.
According to DTI-BPS, it witnessed the destruction of the substandard wires and cables at the manufacturer’s warehouse in Marikina City on January 18, 2023, and February 9, 2023.
Some of these substandard wires and cables, BPS said, were cut on the top, middle, and lower portions of the rolls, while some were peeled and the bare copper were cut to non-commercial size by the manufacturer’s authorized representatives prior to disposal.
The thermoplastic insulated electric wires and cables are listed under the lighting and wiring devices that the standards body placed under mandatory certification.
According to BPS’ web site, part of its mandate, as provided in the Consumer Act of the Philippines, is to protect consumers against hazards to health and safety as well as to assure the public of the consistency of standardized products in the market.
Further, to carry out its mandate, the national standards body provides for the standardization and certification of products, both locally manufactured and imported, giving the consumers access to quality and safe products conforming to the relevant Philippine National Standards (PNS).
Currently, the BPS implements two Mandatory Product Certification Schemes: the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark Licensing Scheme and the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) Certification scheme.
Products covered by the mandatory certification, whether locally manufactured or imported, are not allowed to be distributed in the Philippine market without the necessary PS or ICC marks, the BPS stressed.
Currently, there are 111 products listed under mandatory certification. BPS said these are classified into three major product groups namely Electrical and Electronic Products; Mechanical/Building and Construction Materials; and Chemical and other consumer products and systems.
Image credits: DTI Bureau of Philippine Standards