DTI, Mla LGU urged to stop sale of substandard steel bars

MANILA, Philippines — Local manufacturers have urged the Department of Trade and Industry and the city government of Manila to monitor hardware stores selling substandard steel angle bars, saying the use of these materials—especially in billboards—poses risks to life and property.

The Steel Angles, Shapes, Sections Manufacturers Association of the Philippines Inc. (SASSMAPI) appealed to the DTI and Manila Mayor Francisco Moreno Domagoso after a radio station tweeted pictures of a billboard attached to a mall in Divisoria that collapsed after taking a pounding from strong winds. Two people were reportedly injured in the incident, and the mall management shouldered their medical expenses.

SASSMAPI immediately sent its people to the area to check the steel angle bars used in the billboard and discovered that the logo of the manufacturer was not embossed on the steel bars, a violation of the Philippine Product Standards.

 “This means that the steel angle bars used by the billboard maker were uncertified and substandard. We hope the Manila City government will look into this further and determine who was the supplier of these substandard angle bars,” SASSMAPI said.

The group also asked other concerned agencies of the city government to include in their random monitoring hardware stores that are selling substandard steel angle bars and other construction materials, noting that they can team up with the DTI Bureau of Product Standards and Consumer Protection Group in stopping the proliferation of substandard steel angle bars in Manila.