Philippines crushes 1,000 inferior circuit breakers
THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) has destroyed about 1,000 substandard imported circuit breakers as part of its market monitoring efforts, it said in a statement last week.
The circuit breakers were destroyed at a warehouse in Parañaque City on Feb. 23 after independent testing showed that these failed the inverse time-delay operation requirement under Philippine standards.
“The inverse time-delay operation requirement measures the duration of how long before a circuit breaker trips or cuts off the flow of electricity once subjected to overload conditions,” DTI said.
“This requirement reflects one of the main purposes of circuit-breakers, which is to interrupt the electric current to prevent circuits from overheating, which could eventually lead to an electrical fire and ultimately, damage to life and property,” it added.
Circuit breakers are among the 111 products covered by mandatory product certification by the DTI-Bureau of Philippine Standards.
The regulated products are divided into electrical and electronic products; mechanical, building and construction materials; and chemical and other consumer products.
The DTI-BPS enforces two mandatory product certifications — the Philippine Standard quality and safety certification mark licensing and the import commodity clearance certification. Both inform consumers that a product meets local quality standards.
“Products covered by the mandatory certification, whether locally manufactured or imported, are not allowed to be distributed in the Philippine market without the necessary Philippine standard or import commodity clearance marks,” DTI said. — R.M.D. Ochave
