‘Kiss’ for substandard steel bars
The expression “Keep it simple, stupid (Kiss)” has been the advocacy of the Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) in addressing the dangerous problem of substandard products, especially steel bars. Given climate change, this has become urgent; though some at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) favor this, such as Assistant Secretary Regino Mallari, others have rejected it.
Substandard steel bars have proliferated because of corruption or incompetence. In some cases, this has become a kiss of death. Last May 24, nine people died due to the collapse of a nine-story building in Angeles City. The culprit? Steel bar mandatory standards were not enforced.
Necessary raid
It was reported that these steel bars had the CX logo, registered under Chuangxing Steel in Magalang, Pampanga. This plant was subsequently raided on July 18. It was led by the National Bureau of Investigation and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC). The DTI was not part of this team, which uncovered P3 billion worth of materials and products, including substandard steel bars. The NBI has since recommended the prosecution of 12 company officers.
Could this have been prevented? Yes. This was stated at the Sept. 3 hearing of the Senate committee on economic affairs chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros. For disclosure purposes, I was invited as a resource person since I was the Alyansa Agrikultura chair and standards committee chair of the FPI, which has 75 corporations and 23 industry associations. In addition, standards enforcement was part of my responsibility when I was DTI undersecretary and presidential flagship secretary coordinating national infrastructure projects, where standards are critical.
At the Senate hearing, the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (Pisi) presented information about its steel bar test buys in Region 7 and Region 4A from March 16 to 19 and 30 to 31, respectively.
Steel bar violations
In its random steel test buys, the DTI reported less than a 5-percent violation rate, compared with Pisi’s 70 percent. Pisi had earlier reported violation rates of 56 percent in 2024 and 58 percent in 2025. Furthermore, Pisi had been identifying Chuanxing Steel as a possible source of substandard steel bars every year since 2023.
From the 21 violating stores reported by Pisi, 13 manufacturers were identified. None of the 13 manufacturing plants were effectively inspected. Had Chuanxing Steel been found guilty in an inspection, there would have been no need for a raid by the NBI and PAOCC.
Added complexity
Herein lies the problem. During the first five months of this year, out of more than 150 notices of violation for retail stores, only one manufacturer was impleaded. The reason given was lack of receipts.
Even without receipts, the DTI has the authority to inspect a manufacturing establishment to determine standards compliance. Under Section A of Republic Act No. 4109 (the Standards Law), the Bureau of Standards is charged with both the establishment of standards as well as the inspection of their compliance. The DTI Administrative Order No. 2, Series of 2002, further prohibits any person from refusing authorized access entry to inspection. Therefore, the DTI has legal authority to enter an establishment and conduct an inspection to determine standards compliance, even without receipts.
Octopus analogy
If we consider the octopus head as the manufacturer and the tentacles as its retailers, the DTI must now focus on catching the head. The tentacles will provide the leads to the head. The DTI has been doing most of its enforcement work on the tentacles.
While random inspections can continue, the emphasis should be on unannounced inspections of plants where there are already confirmed retail violations that identify these plants. This is not being done, as shown by only one manufacturer being impleaded from more than 150 retail violations.
Strict enforcement should not stop at the retail level. Furthermore, the DTI random test buy rate of less than 5-percent violation compared with the private sector’s 70 percent indicates that private sector input should not be ignored.
We must follow the Kiss strategy favored by DTI officials like Mallari. Only then can we ensure our safety, as well as provide a level playing field for the legitimate manufacturers who strictly follow product standards.
The author is Agriwatch chair, former secretary of presidential flagship programs and projects and former agriculture and trade undersecretary. Contact agriwatch_phil@yahoo.com.
