Customs taps standards bureau for tighter watch on imported steel bars
By Beatrice M. Laforga
THE BUREAU of Customs (BoC) and the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) are now coordinating to strengthen examination of imported steel bars after lawmakers launched an inquiry on the alleged smuggling of substandard steel into the country.
Vincent Philip C. Maronilla, BoC assistant commissioner heading the Post Clearance Audit Group, said at a hearing in the House of Representatives on Wednesday that his office has asked BPS for technical help for these examinations. “There’s a close coordination now that’s going to be done with BPS because they’re the primary agency that actually ensures the quality of steel coming in. We actually go by their regulations only,” Mr. Maronilla explained.
He added that BoC is “beefing up its post clearance audit” on imported steel bars as well as cooperate with the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission on its probe on the matter.
Some importers, he said, may be buying cheaper, substandard steel products but “declare it as complete standard.”
Roberto M. Cola, president of the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI), said in a telephone interview that while there are importers who bring in substandard steel bars, some local manufacturers have also been producing substandard products.
“It’s both local and importers, most are locally produced, they are coming from local. It used to be imported, ’yung galing (from) China. Ngayon nandito na ’yung mga factory kaya ino-oppose namin ’yung facilities na ’yan kasi bina-ban sa China ’yan eh, marami na ang nagtatayo ngayon (Factories that make substandard steel bars are now here after being banned in China, that is why we oppose them. Many of the operators are now in hiding),” Mr. Cola said also on Wednesday.
He noted that supply of substandard steel bars is “now slowly decreasing” after the government acted on his PISI’s complaint, amounting to about a fourth of products in the group’s “test-buys” in hardware stores nationwide from about 60% previously.
It a report e-mailed to BusinessWorld yesterday, PISI said that substandard steel bars were being sold in at least 44 hardware stores across the country as of September, as indicated by “failed result from the Metals Industry Research and Development Center.”
“Hindi masyado namo-monitor ng government kaya nakalat ’yan, it’s only lately nung nag-complain ng maraming substandard na gumawa sila ng nationwide monitoring (Substandard steel proliferated due to inadequate government monitoring. It’s only lately in the face of complaints that the government embarked on nationwide monitoring),” he said.
