Quake-damaged buildings in Leyte used uncertified materials – PISI

Several buildings in Leyte, damaged by the magnitude 6.5 earthquake earlier this month, were found to have been built using uncertified materials, the Philippine Iron and Steel Institute (PISI) said Monday.

In an emailed statement, PISI noted several buildings in Kananga, Leyte used uncertified rebars, also known as reinforcing steel or reinforcement steel.

"The uncertified products that were found in the damaged structures and in the market were most likely imported and did not follow the Import Commodity Clearance procedures of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)," according to PISI.

"Considering that these earthquake-damaged areas will now start rebuilding, it is necessary to remove these dangerous rebars (reinforcing bars) from the market," it said.

PISI conducted an investigation on July 19, or 13 days after the magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit the island of Leyte at 4:03 p.m. on July 6.

PISI urged both the DTI and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to implement stricter measures against uncertified construction materials circulating in the market.

"This can be done through a massive market monitoring and standards enforcement from DTI," it said.

"Further, both DTI and BOC should come up with a campaign to prevent additional or new batches of uncertified imported rebars to slip from our ports of entry," it added. — Jon Viktor Cabuenas/VDS/KVD, GMA News